


ARC-V: Before the Four Worlds

by Tohka_Yatogami



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24983071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tohka_Yatogami/pseuds/Tohka_Yatogami
Summary: (Imported from fanfiction.net)Yuya Sakaki has discovered Pendulum Summoning, but quickly learns that there's still a lot about the new monsters than he initially thought, and finds a new drive in discovering their secrets. However, what he and Yuzu don't know is what seems like simple Championship practice is really preparing their world for war.Interquel to ARC-V: Battle of Four Worlds
Relationships: Hiiragi Yuzu/Sakaki Yuya
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**I know some of you might be surprised by this, but... here's a third story in my what's now my ARC-V trilogy! Where the main story occurs in "Battle of Four Worlds" and the relationships for each dimensional pair are shared in "Bonds of Four Worlds", this story takes place between the end of the Yuya and Yuzu chapter of the latter and first chapter of the former, hence this story's choice of name.**

**This wasn't as planned as the other two entries in the trilogy, as while I wanted to show a few more events between Episodes 7 through 35 than I actually did, I also wanted the main story to start from around the reveal of other Dimensions due to how important that will be to everything once the Battle Royale gets closer to its end. Luckily, my aid in writing duels, Shini Kurogane, suggested I make another short story like "Bonds of Four Worlds" to show them off.**

**Aside from that, I also made this story because I'm sure there are a few details that might be confusing everyone, and the scenes you'll see here are meant to fill in those gaps while also sharing some extra character development that was only implied without seeing what happened. For example, how Yuya will react in certain scenes, especially those that are affected by Pendulum Summoning being usable by anyone.**

**Now, since this story happens long before we get insight on the potential Lancers, as "Bonds of Four World" has the eventual allies our heroes will meet in the other dimensions, this one mainly focuses on Gongenzaka and Reiji in their place. This is especially important since both of them have a major role for what this part of the trilogy will be covering.**

**Last thing before we start is that while Yuto and Shun have an influence here? It's more than likely the two of them will only be mentioned in passing more often than you'll see them directly show up, for the same reasons I've mentioned above. As for the other dimensional counterparts other than Yuto, none of them will be appearing beyond possible mentions of Ruri, as this story covers the events before they're important to the overall plot.**

**So, without further ado? Let's get this interquel of the "Four Worlds" trilogy started!**

* * *

**[Chapter 1 - Empowering the Pendulum]**

Yuya had never felt a greater weight in his life than he did at this moment, watching Reiji Akaba give a slight chuckle after what looked like a comeback that pushed the duel between them in his favor.

Just a few months ago, both his life and the fate of his father's Duel School were forever changed when he dueled against Strong Ishijima, and somehow managed to discover a new Summoning method that almost everyone could now use.

Pendulum Summoning.

There was still a lot about this mysterious new summoning method that no one knew. Just that the Monsters were also considered spells, often went to the Extra Deck when destroyed instead of the Graveyard, and focused on Special Summoning in ways that made many ancient decks breathe life once more.

Due to how new it was? The only school with a Pendulum Summoning course (for now at least) was You Show Duel School, which gained a new influx of students that saved it from being closed from what would had been an inability to pay the bills due to outdated equipment, and the tuition of only two students.

If there was any one school that would soon catch up, it would be Leo Duel School... which led to the current situation, where they might just get it through You Show itself.

"Why are you laughing?" Yuya asked, feeling the pressure on him start to grow.

"Do you really think that the powers of Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Ritual were all I have at my disposal?" Reiji inquired.

Hearing this made the watching You Show students feel nervous.

"It's time that you see the power of Pendulum Summoning brought to its very limits!" He declared.

All of this began when Yuzu overhead Sawatari's flunkies talking about a form of planned revenge against Yuya for his earlier defeat, when Sawatari had taken Yuya's Astromancy and Chronomancy Magicians, only to be humiliated.

Yuzu had planned to duel him after hearing this, but they gained an unexpected arrival through a stranger that beat Sawatari easily, who had apparently been none other than Yuya to him and his flunkies' eyes... however, Yuzu quickly realized that he wasn't Yuya when he came looking for her shortly after.

Sawatari seemed to gain an even greater grudge due to this loss, and since he didn't learn Yuya wasn't his attacker, apparently had his flunkies lie for him and get LDS to blame Yuya for the attacks. This led to Himika deciding the situation would be resolved with a series of duels that would decide if You Show would stay independent... or be merged into their company.

'Is he about to-' Yuya thought, noticing his choice of words.

So far, the score between each school was a draw. With the duels before this having been Yuya against Hokuto Shijima from the Xyz Course, then Yuzu against Masumi Kotsu from the Fusion Course, and finally Gongenzaka (who Sora allowed to duel in his place, a decision approved by Himika Akaba) against Yaiba Todo from the Synchro Course.

All of these events led to now, in different ways that shocked the players of both sides.

* * *

_After having narrowly survived Hokuto's assault on him, he peaked out from behind the rock he was behind as various You Show students booed Hokuto for his brutal style of dueling._

_"Silence! A duel is a fight, so you can't be picky about the methods you're using to win!" Hokuto countered, smirking as he did._

_"You're wrong!" Yuya shouted._

_Hokuto showed surprise as Yuya revealed himself and got back on his feet, staring at Hokuto with a serious expression on his face._

_"I don't want anyone to get hurt!" He exclaimed, slightly echoing._

_Yuzu gasped, recognizing those words._

_' **I don't want you to get hurt!** ' Yuto replied._

_'They're clearly two different people, and yet... the way they look and act is almost identical! How is that possible?' She questioned._

_Yuya reached for his next card._

_"My turn, draw!" He exclaimed, a big smile on his face._

_He looked at what he drew and then began his move._

_" **The fun has just begun!** " He announced._

_Everyone on the You Show side cheered at one of his signature lines, with Hokuto feeling a little worried by their reactions, though he couldn't tell why he felt that way._

_"I summon Entermate Trampolynx!" Yuya stated, playing the card he just drew._

_A purple circus cat, with a trampoline for a back, did a back flip onto the field._

**_(Level 2, ATK: 300 | DEF: 300)_ **

_"When I successfully summon my Trampolynx to the field, he can let me return one card on my field to my hand, and the one I choose is... Astromancy Magician!" Yuya revealed._

_This shocked everyone, with Reiji raising an eye from where he sat, as Astromancy Magician disappeared._

_"Now he can't Pendulum Summon this turn! What's he thinking!?" Tatsuya asked, looking worried._

_"Wait, this is..." Yuzu realized._

_She thought back to how during their duel when she first used her own Pendulum Cards, where Yuya goofed and set Odd-Eyes as one of his scales, which heavily limited what he could Pendulum Summon against her._

_"He knows exactly what he's doing." She said with confidence._

_This caused the students to look at her, wondering what she meant._

_"And now, coming to center stage to replace him will be... my Entermate Turn Toad!" Yuya revealed._

_Turn Toad hopped into view, revealing a 3 underneath him._

**_Pendulum Scale: 3-8_ **

_"While I can't summon any Level 2 or Level 3 Monsters anymore? I won't need them!" Yuya said with confidence._

_A familiar Pendulum began swinging._

_"Swing, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether!" Yuya chanted._

**_"PENDULUM SUMMON!"_ **

_The red portal formed at that moment._

_"Come forth, my faithful Monsters!" He shouted._

_The first to appear was none other than Astromancy Magician, who appeared in a reversed scene of how his Pendulum Effect would activate._

**_"Astromancy Magician!"_ ** _(Level 5, ATK: 1200 | DEF: 2400)_

_And after that flashed a familiar pair of heterochromic eyes, followed by their owner's signature roar._

**_"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"_ ** _(Level 7, ATK: 2500 | DEF: 2000)_

_Reiji looked at what Yuya did, realizing something even he hadn't learned about Pendulum Monsters before now, which had been quite simple once he thought about it._

_"So, a Pendulum Scale isn't absolute the moment it's formed, and can be changed as long as you remove one of the original Monsters." He said to himself, taking note of this discovery._

_"I activate the effect of my Sacred Pleiades!" Hokuto countered._

_The last of its overlay units entered its staff, making it glow as it aimed at Odd-Eyes._

**_(OU: 0)_ **

_"I send your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon back to your hand!" He smirked victoriously._

_A bright glow forced the Dragon back into Yuya's hand._

_"You can't Pendulum Summon more than once per turn, so your Dragon's sitting this round out! Show-time is over!" Hokuto exclaimed._

_"I activate my Astromancy Magician's effect!" Yuya countered._

_"Wait, what!? But I didn't activate a Spell card!" Hokuto said in surprise._

_"That's my Magician's Pendulum effect, and since it's currently not in my Pendulum Scale, it can't use that effect. However, since it's on my field, my Astromancy Magician is now able to use its Monster effect!" Yuya clarified._

_Hokuto's eyes widened at that, having no idea what that effect was._

_"Once per turn, if a Pendulum Monster leaves the field... Astromancy Magician opens a portal in space to Special Summon it back to my field!" Yuya revealed._

_"Impossible!" Hokuto screamed in disbelief._

_Astromancy Magician held its signature weapon out, creating a portal overhead as Odd-Eyes jumped through it, and then... revealed a shocking surprise to everyone!_

**_[Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V: Yuya's Theme]_ **

_The orbs on Odd-Eyes' two horns began glowing before ellipses of teal energy formed, with larger ellipses of red energy forming shortly after to create something like feathers, revealing what everyone had believed to be horns were actually wings as it flew across the field._

_"Odd-Eyes is... flying!" Sora exclaimed._

_Odd-Eyes lowered itself to the ground, causing its wings to disappear in what was their equivalent to folding._

_"Now he can use Odd-Eyes effect and win!" Futoshi cheered._

_"No, that won't be enough." Yuzu replied, shaking her head._

_Everyone looked at her._

_"Even if Odd-Eyes uses its effect to boost its attack through another Pendulum Monster, it would only give him another 600 through Astromancy Magician, and that would only add 1200 points of damage." Yuzu explained._

_"And right now, Hokuto's got 3500 life points, meaning Odd-Eyes would need at least need another 1100 ATK points to finish this battle." Gongenzaka added._

_Sora licked his current lollipop in response._

_"I have a good that Yuya's already planned ahead, just look at the smile he's sporting." He remarked._

_It was a smile of someone who was sure of his chances to win._

_"Alright, time for the grand finale! First, I'll activate the Pendulum effect of my Turn Toad! This switches the ATK and DEF points of a Monster on my field, and the Monster I choose is Astromancy Magician!" He began._

_Turn Toad did a flip, then shot its tongue at Astromancy Magician, making it briefly flinch before it felt the change to its strength._

**_(Astromancy Magician, ATK: 2400 | DEF: 1200)_ **

_"And now, I'll use Odd-Eyes effect to empower its attack by half of another Pendulum Monster's on my field, and I choose Astromancy Magician!" Yuya continued._

**_"Reaction Arc!"_ **

_A red light leaked from Odd-Eyes' aura, reacting to Astromancy Magician, who in turn released a teal light that empowered the Dragon by another 1200 ATK points._

**_(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon | ATK: 3700)_ **

_"I don't like where this is headed!" Hokuto realized._

_"That's right, because now I play the Spell card, Magical Star Illusion! This powers up the attack of every Monster on our fields by their combined Levels times 100!" Yuya revealed._

_"But... my Xyz Monsters don't have any Levels!" Hokuto exclaimed, tears falling out of his eyes as he panicked._

_"While all of my Monsters do, and their total Levels are 14, so... how many ATK points do my Monsters get?" Yuya answered, glancing to his crowd._

_"1400!" They answered through their cheers._

_All three of Yuya's Monsters were empowered as starlight flowed into them._

**_(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon | ATK: 5100)_ **

**_(Astromancy Magician | ATK: 3800)_ **

**_(Entermate Trampolynx | ATK: 1700)_ **

_Hokuto almost screamed, but realized the arrival of a certain Action Card would save him, and began running towards it._

_"Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Sacred Pleiades!" Yuya ordered._

_As he declared his attack, he ran towards Trampolynx, with Hokuto unaware of this as he focused on getting an Action Card, whistling to Astromancy Magician as he did._

_Odd-Eyes spread its wings once again and flew towards Yuya as he began falling, right as Hokuto found the Action Card._

**_"Spiral Strike Burst!"_ **

_The red energy flew towards Hokuto, who played his Action Card._

_"Go! Action Spell - Evasion! Now your attack is negated!" He replied._

_"Sorry, but I play the Action Spell - No Action!" Yuya countered, flashing out the Action Spell._

_Hokuto gasped as his Action Spell shattered._

_"What!? How did you-" Hokuto asked in a panic._

_"You can't predict everything! While you were grabbing your Action Card, I took a gamble and found one up high by using Trampolynx and Astromancy Magician to help me reach it!" Yuya revealed._

_Odd-Eyes' attack continued, hitting Pleiades and causing a strong wind to strike Hokuto._

_"And now, Odd-Eyes doubles the battle damage!" Yuya revealed._

**_"Reaction Force!"_ **

_The red blast doubled in size, blasting Pleiades apart and making the wind strong enough to fling Hokuto towards the walls._

**_Hokuto Shijima - 0_ ** **_LP_ **

**_WINNER: Yuya Sakaki_ **

_Right as the duel result showed Yuya one the victory screen, Hokuto hit said wall, before slowly sliding down to the floor._

**_[Insert Song End]_ **

_Everyone in You Show cheered at Yuya winning them the first round. While Himika was slightly disappointed at the loss, she ignored it due to having finally seen Pendulum Monsters and their strengths in a duel._

* * *

_Yuzu was currently in a tight spot against Julia, despite having her Pendulum Monsters out on her field. She currently had her Prodigy Mozart and Canon, while Masumi had summoned her Gem-Knight Master Diamond._

_"Now, I'll activate the effect of my Gem-Knight Master Diamond, which allows me to Banish a Level 7 or lower Gem-Knight monster and then give all of its effects to Master Diamond until the end of my turn." Masumi stated, showing a dangerous smirk on her face._

_"No way!" Yuzu stated, realizing she could be hit by any effect without a way to plan for it._

_Masumi drew Gem-Knight Topaz from her Graveyard._

_"I choose my Gem-Knight Topaz, so now? Whenever my Master Diamond destroys one of your Monsters... you take damage equal to its original ATK points!" She revealed before putting the Monster in her Banished Zone._

_Yuzu's eyes widened, but only for a moment, as that was an effect she could counter._

_"And to make sure you take all the damage? I activate the Spell card, Forbidden Chalice from my hand, and my target will be your Azalea! Now your Monster's effect is shut down for the rest of my turn!" Masumi continued, revealing the last card in her hand._

_Yuzu gasped in horror as a chalice appeared before Azalea, a flowery looking Melodious Monster with a blue color scheme and a dress that resembled a shrine maiden's, who drank it without a second thought. After doing so, she coughed as the chalice's curse negated her powers._

_**Azalea the Melodious Flower** _   
_**(LIGHT)** _

_**Level 5 - Pendulum** _   
_**Fairy** _   
_**ATK: 1400 | DEF: 2200 | Scale: 9** _

_**Pendulum Effect:** _   
_**Once per turn, you can halve any effect damage you receive from a card effect.** _

_**Monster Effect:** _   
_**If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, target one Monster on your opponent's field, then gain Life Points equal to half of its ATK.** _

_"That means Yuzu will take the full brunt of Master Diamond's effect!" Yuya realized._

_"And I bet that's not the only part of Topaz's effect she has to worry about." Sora added._

_Everyone looked at him._

_"If that was all it could do, then Masumi wouldn't have used Forbidden Chalice, because Yuzu would still have Life Points. That has to mean it can do something else that will let it defeat Yuzu this turn." He continued._

_Masumi threw her hand out._

_"Battle! Gem-Knight Crystal, attack Canon the Melodious Diva!" She ordered._

_Crystal's shoulders glowed before firing crystals at Canon, with Yuzu not taking any damage due to it being in Defense mode._

_"Master Diamond, attack Prodigy Mozart!" Masumi continued._

_Master Diamond swung his sword as Mozart readied her conductor wand, only to be slashed across her torso before exploding._

_"I activate my Chrysanthemum the Melodious Flower's Pendulum effect! One per turn, I can halve any battle damage I take!" Yuzu shouted, knowing that she had to lessen any damage that Masumi hit her with._

_**Chrysanthemum the Melodious Flower** _   
_**(LIGHT)** _

_**Level 3 - Pendulum** _   
_**Fairy** _   
_**ATK: 1100 | DEF: 700 | Scale: 2** _

_**Pendulum Effect:** _   
_**Once per turn, you can halve any battle damage you receive from an attack.** _

_**Monster Effect:** _   
_**If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, target one Monster on your opponent's field, then deal damage to your opponent equal to half of its ATK.** _

_A red version of Azalea who had a fierce expression and a short dress resembling a qipao crossed her arms before swinging them out. This created a storm of red petals that hit Master Diamond's form, causing the shock wave to hit Yuzu at half its original size._

**_Yuzu Hiragi - 3850 LP_ **

_"And now, Topaz's effect will deal you damage equal to your Prodigy Mozart's original ATK points!" Masumi announced._

_Master Diamond held out his hand, blasting yellow pulses at Yuzu, who was thrown back as a result of them hitting her._

**_Yuzu Hiragi - 1250 LP_ **

_"Finally, the power of Gem-Knight Topaz's other effect will allow my Master Diamond to attack you twice!" Masumi revealed._

**_[Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V: Cornered Duelist]_ **

_"T-Twice?" Yuzu breathed, realizing what that meant._

_The other You Show students gasped after heard that._

_"Even if she hadn't used Chrysanthemum's effect until this attack, half of Master Diamond's attack would still be more than her remaining Life Points!" Ayu realized._

_Realizing Yuzu was about to lose, Yuya looked for any signs of an Action Card, quickly finding one._

_"Yuzu! There's an Action Card to your left, at the pillar behind you! Grab it!" Yuya shouted._

_Unfortunately, Yuzu's mind was overwhelmed with thoughts, and she didn't hear a word of what Yuya said, or continued saying._

_'I can't do anything. I'm about to lose this duel, and risk our chances of saving You Show... all because I chose to follow Sawatari!" She thought, feeling the guilt take her over._

_"Staring off into space, and while your friend tells you how to save yourself? Your mind is quite clouded." Masumi stated, deciding to take this chance._

_Master Diamond held out its sword as a yellow beam shot at Yuzu, making her scream as she took the full brunt of the attack, and blowing the Action Card over to reveal it was none other than Evasion._

**_[Insert Song End]_ **

_A card that could have saved her, if she hadn't let her thoughts keep her from hearing Yuya._

**_Yuzu Hiragi - 0 LP_ **

**_WINNER: Masumi Kotsu_ **

_Silence followed as Yuya immediately ran out onto the field, where an immobile Yuzu laid, almost as if she gave up on the duel before the final attack. Among the Leo Duel School team, only Himika and Masumi seemed to be alright with how they won this round._

_As this was happening, Sora stopped eating his pocky, which had gained a bitter taste from Yuzu's loss._

_'Yuzu had a chance to save herself, but just... gave up. Are the people of the Pendulum Dimension really such pushovers?' He thought, looking at her._

_"Yuzu? Yuzu!" Yuya shouted, trying to shake her awake._

_She opened her eyes before looking at Yuya._

_"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked._

_"I'm OK... physically, at least." Yuzu answered, slowly standing back up._

_Before Yuya could ask further, she suddenly collapsed into his arms, scaring him for a moment._

_"Yuzu!?" He asked worriedly._

_"This is all my fault... I shouldn't have tried to follow Sawatari, because then we wouldn't have to be dueling for our school. This is all happening because I tried fighting on your behalf!" Yuzu cried, feeling the guilt become too much for her._

_Hearing that, Sora dropped what remained of his pocky, surprising the younger trio of You Show._

_"Sora, are you OK?" Tatsuya asked._

_"Y-Yeah, I just... didn't expect that to be what caused Yuzu to lose." He lied, hoping they'd believe it._

_"I guess that makes sense, Yuzu seemed fine until that last turn." Ayu replied, believing him._

_"How long was she holding that in?" Futoshi wondered._

_Sora let out a silent sigh of relief, not wanting to admit that Yuzu's words had hit closer to home than he'd like to admit._

_Yuya hugged Yuzu back, surprising her a little._

_"Don't worry, we're not going to lose. Remember what you told me back then, and turn that smile upside down." He promised, trying to reassure her._

_Yuzu sniffled a little before hugging back, with neither realizing where they were, until..._

_"Can you please flirt with your girlfriend somewhere else?" Masumi demanded, giving them a deadpan look._

_Both of them suddenly froze as they heard that, and then blushed as they looked at the Gem-Knight Duelist._

_"W-We're not a couple!" They shouted in perfect unison._

_"Could have fooled me, especially with that response." Masumi remarked._

_Sora covered his mouth, trying not to laugh, and barely succeeding._

_'I knew it! She definitely likes him." He thought, recalling the one time he mistook them for a couple and how they reacted to it._

_Yaiba soon walked into the field._

_"Either way, she's right about you needing to get off the field, because now it's my turn to duel." He stated._

_And with those words, the battle between Gongenzaka and Yaiba began._

* * *

_To the many students of You Show that hadn't seen Gongenzaka duel before? His duel with Yaiba was a surprise, as he ran a deck consisting of nothing but an archetype of mostly EARTH-attribute Monsters called Superheavy Samurais._

_Most of his Monsters followed a set of three different themes, one of them that actually required his deck to lack any Spells and Traps to function properly._

_"Why does Gongenzaka run such a deck?" A student asked._

_"Because his Duel School's style is called Steadfast Dueling, which is when you have an Action Duel where you never move away from an attack, meaning you can't grab Action Cards without going against that belief. His deck acts as a constant reminder due to how even one Action Spell can seal its strength." Yuya explained._

_Sora took out a lollipop and began licking it._

_"I'll admit that despite how it's a deck of only Monsters, the fact he's holding his ground shows it works." He admitted, giving Gongenzaka praise where it was due._

_Yuya closed his eyes, smiling for a moment._

_"One could say that Gongenzaka was the main reason I even had a chance against Strong Ishijima and Hokuto." Yuya mentioned._

_"Hmm?" Sora blinked, confused by what Yuya meant._

_"Despite how Steadfast Dueling is the complete opposite of Entertainment Dueling, the creed of his father's school means they also act as a shield to those who can't defend themselves. After Yuya's father disappeared, it was Gongenzaka, his father, and their students that gave Yuya the duels he needed to improve once his father's disappearance motivated him to get better at dueling. Not only that, but they were among the few who believed that Yusho's absence had nothing to do with cowardice." Yuzu explained._

_"Whoa, so... he's been like the shield to Yuya and this school?" Sora asked._

_Yuzu nodded, not needing to say any more than what she already had._

_"Now I get why he was so insistent on dueling for the school. In a way, he's as much of a You Show student as we are." He realized._

_Sora turned his attention back to the duel as Gongenzaka made his next move._

_"Battle! Big Benkei, attack X-Saber Souza!" He ordered._

_The bulky machine-like samurai struck the ground, destroying the X Saber with a fiery blaze that shot from it, hitting Yaiba with a powerful shock wave._

**_Yaiba Todo - 3000 LP_ **

_"Alright!" The You Show students cheered._

_"Keep it up Gongenzaka!" Yuya shouted._

_Yaiba grit his teeth for a moment, then gave Gongenzaka a fierce gaze that rivaled that the one he was giving him._

_"You've done it now you stubborn bastard! I activate the Trap card, Gatmuz's Emergency Orders!" He announced._

_The trap flipped up._

_"If there's a face up X-Saber monster on the field, this card allows me to revive two X-Sabers from my Graveyard! I choose my Souza and Ragigura!" He shouted._

_The destroyed man and a lizard warrior flew out of a portal generated by the card._

**_X-Saber_ ** _  
**(Level 7, ATK: 2500 | DEF: 1600)** _

**_X-Saber_ ** _  
**(Level 1, ATK: 200 | DEF: 1000)** _

_"Now, using Ragigura's effect, I return Faultroll to my hand!" He continued, grabbing the ejected card._

_The You Show trio looked worried._

_"He finally beat Souza, and yet... he was revived so easily!" Tatsuya exclaimed._

_"And now his Faultroll's back in his hand!" Futoshi added worriedly._

_Hokuto smirked in response._

_"Monsters you can summon even when it isn't your turn are exactly what makes the X-Sabers so frightening." He stated._

_"Wow, you rarely praise another person's deck. Did losing make you that weak?" Masumi remarked._

_Hokuto went white as a blue metaphorical arrow with her first reply written on it struck him in the chest, followed by a purple arrow that had her second reply written on it._

_Masumi soon saw him sitting in the corner, silently moping, and just stared at his reaction._

_"I hate to say it, but... they're right. Gongenzaka has a 100 life points left and no cards in his hands. Is there any way for him to turn this duel around?" Yuzu asked._

_"There is, and as long as he hasn't given up, he can still win." Yuya confirmed._

_Everyone watched, since now it was Yaiba's turn, which meant things were currently in his favor._

_"My turn, draw!" He shouted, pulling out his card._

_Yaiba soon revealed a familiar card to Gongenzaka._

_"Since there are two X-Sabers on the field, my Faultroll can be Special Summoned onto my field!" He stated._

_His cyborg-like warrior returned to the battle._

**_(Level 6, ATK: 2400 | DEF: 1800)_ **

_"Now I'll activate Faultroll's effect to summon a Level 4 or lower Monster back from my Graveyard, and I'm choosing my Fulhelmknight!" Yaiba continued._

_Faultroll hit the ground, opening a portal for the blonde warrior to jump out of it._

**_(Level 3, ATK: 1300 | DEF: 1000)_ **

_"And that X-Saber is a Tuner Monster..." Yuzu said, realizing what was about to happen._

_"That's right! I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 6 Faultroll!" Yaiba confirmed._

_The Synchro rings formed and Faultroll began to change._

_"Let your silver armor shine and crush the hope of everything that opposes you!" He chanted._

**_"SYNCHRO SUMMON!"_ **

_A warrior with mostly golden armor with some silver accents, a red cape on his back, and a large sword in hand roared into view._

_"Come forth! Level 9, XX-Saber Gatmuz!" Yaiba announced._

**_(Level 9, ATK: 3100 | DEF: 2600)_ **

_With two of them on the field, everyone from You Show felt justifiably nervous._

_"Now, I'll use Souza's effect to release my Ragigura!" He shouted._

_The lizard warrior burst apart, causing a confused look to appear on Gongenzaka's face._

_"I can see what's written all over your face, and as for why I did that? You'll find out soon enough." Yaiba vaguely answered._

_He pointed his finger at his opponent._

_"Battle! Souza, attack his Big Benkei!" He ordered, shocking the You Show side._

_"Why do that?" Tatsuya asked._

_"Because by releasing an X-Saber monster, he gains the effect of destroying any Monster he battles with this turn!" Yaiba answered._

_The You Show trio gasped after hearing that._

_"This time, I'll take out your ace card you've been so stubbornly defending!" Yaiba declared._

_Souza prepared his swing._

_"I activate my Great Wall's effect! By sending this Monster to the Graveyard while its equipped, I can negate the attack, but at the cost of my Monster losing all of his DEF points!" Gongenzaka countered._

**_(Big Benkei | DEF: 0)_ **

_Big Benkei held out his shield, which shattered as Souza gained a surprised look on his face._

_"Damn it! Then my two Gatmuz will finish you off! Now go, attack Big Benkei!" Yaiba decided._

**_[Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: Opposition]_ **

_"Exactly what I was waiting for!" He replied._

_Yaiba showed surprise at those words._

_"I activate the effect of my Armament Break Armor in my Graveyard!" He continued._

_"From your Graveyard!?" Yaiba repeated, feeling a bead of sweat slide down his cheek._

_He gasped._

_"Wait... is that one of the cards **I** sent there!?" He questioned._

_"That's right, and the Graveyard is where it shows its true strength! As such, I the man Gongenzaka, thank you for sending it there!" Gongenzaka confirmed._

_Yaiba raised his guard, wondering what its effect was._

_"Because I have no Spells or Traps in my Graveyard, I can deal the difference between an attacked Monster's current and original Defense to you as damage!" He revealed._

_"His original Defense was 3500, and he currently has none, meaning-" Yaiba realized._

_"Gongenzaka will win!" The You Show students cheered._

_Sora dropped his lollipop in shock, which shattered as his eyes shook as if to represent the impact it took from hitting the ground._

_"No way... he was planning for this all along?" Sora asked._

_"He stood strong, and now it's about to pay off!" Yuya smiled, just waiting for the move to go through._

_Masumi and Hokuto were shocked after hearing that._

_"This is a Monster only deck!?" Masumi remarked._

_"I can't believe such a deck can function, but it does... and Yaiba might just lose to it!" Hokuto panicked._

_Armament Break Armor's spirit appeared and shot four red energy spheres towards Yaiba, who smiled._

_"I gotta say, your plays were interesting, but... I'm afraid this isn't over yet, because I play my Spell card, Saber Reflector! Because I have an X-Saber on my field, I can negate the damage and then bounce it right back at you!" He countered._

_"No way!" Yuzu shouted in surprise._

_"Gongenzaka!" Yuya fearfully shouted._

_As the attack was sent back by a blue energy barrier, making it a huge blue blast aimed at Gongenzaka... he reached for his Graveyard again, making Yaiba gasp._

_"No way, another Graveyard effect!?" He shouted._

_"That's right, and now I activate my Armament Big Bang's effect from the Graveyard! Since I have no Spells or Traps in my Graveyard, the damage you sent back to me is now negated because it came from a card effect!" He confirmed._

_Yaiba gritted his teeth._

_"I can't believe you had a counter for my own counter!" Yaiba stated._

_"And that's not all! All the Monsters on our fields get destroyed, and then... we take damage equal to their combined Levels times 100!" Gongenzaka continued._

_Yaiba's eyes widened._

_"But then that means-" He realized, seeing the combined Levels equaled 33._

_A huge explosion went off, hitting both players._

**_Yaiba Todo - 0 LP  
Noboru Gongenzaka - 0 LP_ **

**_WINNER: DRAW_ **

_The white flash vanished, revealing Yaiba on his stomach and Gongenzaka on his back._

**_[Insert Song End]_ **

_Yuya ran over to Gongenzaka, helping him up._

_"Are you alright?" Yuya asked._

_"I'm fine. The only thing that hurts is that I, the man Gongenzaka, was only able to end it as a Draw instead of a Win." He apologized._

_"Don't be, a draw may not mean we've won, but we haven't lost either." Yuya reassured him._

_Shuzo was silent for a moment._

_"Chairwoman Akaba, since we've ended the duel as a Draw, I assume that you won't just walk away from this?" He realized, hoping he was wrong._

_"That's right. We shall decide the result with a tie-breaker between the Duelists who won their matches!" She replied, making her announcement._

_"No." Reiji interjected._

_It was then that Reiji finally walked into view and removed his hood, causing the You Show students to gasp._

_"We'll decide it through each school's best Duelist." He stated._

_"Uh... who's this, and why does everyone look afraid?" Sora asked._

_"That's the president of the Leo Corp, and a Pro Duelist no less, Reiji Akaba!" Yuzu answered, without looking away._

_Sora gasped in surprise, but not for the reason everyone else believed._

_Yuya looked at Reiji Akaba, feeling a bit of sweat on his face as the realization of how hard saving You Show had become._

* * *

And sure enough, he had been right to think that, as he quickly summoned and filled his field with each type of Special Monster.

For Fusion, it was D/D/D Flame King Temujin.

For Synchro, it was D/D/D Gust King Alexander.

For Xyz, it was D/D/D Boulder King Darius.

And for Ritual, it was D/D/D Wave King Caesar.

"I can tell what you're thinking Yuya, and it's exactly as you fear, because now... I set the Pendulum Scale using my D/D Philosopher of Prophecy Galilei and D/D Philosopher of Prophecy Kepler!" Reiji confirmed.

"This is bad!" Yuya shouted, realizing his worst fears had been confirmed.

The rest of You Show had the same reaction, with the LDS Trio showing some mild surprise as his two Monsters slowly began to manifest on the field, with the Pendulum Gate being sketched by a white pendulum crystal that was less detailed and moved faster than Yuya and Yuzu's.

*"WHIR!"*

Appearing on the left Pendulum Scale was a machine resembling a telescopic lens, specifically the one best associated with Galileo Galilei, who the Monster was named after.

Appearing on the right Pendulum Scale was a machine resembling a model of the solar system, specifically the one best associated with Johannes Kepler, who the Monster was named after.

**Pendulum Scale: 1-10**

"He even has Pendulum Monsters!?" Tatsuya shouted in disbelief.

"That means he's got every type of Monster in his deck, and Yuya only seemed to be keeping up with him because Reiji didn't seem to have Pendulum Monsters before this!" Yuzu mentioned, worried this might be enough to let Reiji win the duel.

Yuya sweated as he braced himself.

_"Grand power which shakes my very soul, arise within me and give birth to a new light that tears through the darkness!"_ Reiji chanted.

**"PENDULUM SUMMON!"**

The portal began glowing.

"Arise, my army of Monsters!" He called, raising his hand up.

Four lights fired out in two waves, with the first releasing three.

"First, three copies of D/D/D Great King Hell Armageddon!" Reiji announced, revealing his first three Monsters.

Three living structures with large purple orbs descended into view.

**D/D/D Great King Hell Armageddon #1**   
**(Level 8, ATK: 3000 | DEF: 1000)**

**D/D/D Great King Hell Armageddon #2  
(Level 8, ATK: 3000 | DEF: 1000)**

**D/D/D Great King Hell Armageddon #3  
(Level 8, ATK: 3000 | DEF: 1000)**

"And then D/D/D Alternate King Hell Armageddon!" Reiji continued as the remaining Monster appeared.

A clear, colorless version of Hell Armageddon appeared, with its effect making it become a 4th Armageddon due to being on the field.

**D/D/D Altered King Hell Armageddon**   
**(Level 9, ATK: 3000 | DEF: 1000)**

"Four of the same Monster..." Yuya breathed, despite knowing the fourth only counted as such on the field.

Reiji pointed his finger at Odd-Eyes.

"Battle! Hell Armageddon, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" He ordered.

One of his four identical Monsters charged its orb for a powerful attack.

"If three of his attacks succeed, I'll lose!" Yuya realized.

Looking around, he spotted an Action Card a few feet away, and then rushed towards it. The luck that brought it so close to him kept going, revealing itself as a Miracle card.

"I play the Action Spell - Miracle, and use it to protect Odd-Eyes!" He shouted.

Odd-Eyes glowed as the card protected him.

**Yuya Sakaki - 3050 LP**

"Miracles can only happen once, and I have three attacks left!" Reiji replied.

The second Hell Armageddon attacked right as he said that, and this time, Odd-Eyes roared before the blast destroyed it.

**Yuya Sakaki - 2550 LP**

Yuya put Odd-Eyes into his Extra Deck, with everyone in You Show panicking as the third Hell Armageddon readied its attack.

"Hell Armageddon, attack Fire Mufflion!" Reiji continued.

Running around for another Action Card, luck once again favored Yuya as he found a second.

"I play the Action Spell - Evasion!" Yuya countered.

Mufflion jumped out of the attack's way, followed by the fourth Hell Armageddon preparing its attack.

"Sorry Mufflion, but I can't stop this one." He apologized.

His Monster nodded in understanding before closing its eyes. It soon burst apart as it was destroyed, with Yuya feeling the wind of its destruction blast him.

**Yuya Sakaki - 350 LP**

"He just barely survived that assault..." Yuzu said, showing a look of relief.

"But he needed two Action Cards to do it, and even then, he was lucky." Ayu replied, making Reiji's words about using Miracle sound even more morbid than before.

Yuya took a moment to catch his breath, feeling the adrenaline from dodging Reiji's attacks finally wear off.

"I place a card face down and end my turn." Reiji finished.

Finally catching his breath, Yuya readied himself to draw his next card, knowing it would likely decide this duel because of his currently empty hand.

"My turn, draw!" Yuya shouted.

It was at that moment the Pendulum Monsters on Reiji's field began to short circuit, surprising everyone, especially himself.

"They're malfunctioning? And now of all times!?" He said in surprise, looking at his Monsters.

Even worse? His formerly long-ranged Pendulum Scale shrank, causing all four of his Hell Armageddon monsters to explode, leaving his field empty.

**Pendulum Scale: 2-5**

"What just happened? When Yuya altered his Pendulum Scale against Hokuto, his Trampolynx wasn't affected by it!" Futoshi questioned.

Yuya himself was wondering that, and then it became clear.

"You didn't get those Pendulum Cards like everyone else... you made them!" He realized.

"I did, but it seems that we still don't know enough to make a true Pendulum Monster." Reiji confirmed.

He sent all three copies of his Great King Hell Armageddon and his Altered King Hell Armageddon to the Graveyard, as his Duel Disk gave him an ERROR message when he tried putting them in his Extra Deck.

"Then... that means Yuya still has a chance!" Yuzu realized.

Right as Yuya was about to ready his move, Reiji began laughing, which caught him off-guard.

"Of course, how didn't I notice it until now? Pendulum Monsters are so new that even you, the Duelist who discovered them, has only scratched the surface!" He realized, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Yuya's eyes widened as he heard those words, looking at the Pendulum Monster in his hand.

"What do you mean?" Yuya asked.

"Wait, what!?" Himika screamed in horror.

Both Duelists paused as they heard this, causing everyone to look at Himika, who had just been told something by Nakajima. She then whispered something to Masumi that made her gasp.

"What happened to Professor Marco!?" She questioned, slightly shaking.

"Professor Marco?" Yuya repeated.

"He teaches Fusion at Leo Duel School, and if he was attacked..." Reiji answered.

He pulled his deck out of his Duel Disk.

**DUEL TERMINATED: NO RESULT**

"Then it was likely the same Duelist who attacked Sawatari, meaning the duel for your school has no purpose anymore." He stated.

Yuya simply stared as Reiji left the stadium, unable to say a word.

'Was that a blessing in disguise to stop me from losing?' He thought.

He stood there as everyone from Leo Duel School left You Show Duel School, effectively giving them the win, and allowing their school to stay independent.

* * *

As the Action Field disappeared, Sora was seen walking into the hallway, having been absent since the start of Yuya and Reiji's duel.

"What did I miss?" He asked.

"Huh?" Yuzu blinked.

She looked at him, looking somewhat confused as he ran up to the You Show group.

"When did you leave!?" She questioned.

"I told you I had to use the bathroom before the duel started. Just how into this duel are you to forget-" Sora replied with a deadpan look.

He saw the duel had ended.

"It's already over? Who won!?" He asked.

"No one did. Reiji called off the duel because of some kind of LDS problem." Gongenzaka answered.

"Really? Then... is You Show-" Sora inquired, looking a little nervous.

"He mentioned that it was likely about the Duelist who really attacked Sawatari, so if they can confirm that? I think so." Yuzu answered, hoping they wouldn't come back later.

Yuya then walked out of the Duel Field, letting everyone see the tired look in his eyes.

"Yuya!" Everyone shouted.

They ran up to him as he fell onto his knees, exhausted in mind, body, and emotionally from his duel with Reiji.

"Pendulum Summoning... is still incomplete, and yet he managed to use it alongside Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Ritual... in a single deck. Just how do I find what's beyond it?" He asked himself.

"Yuya..." Yuzu said worriedly.

Sora listened closely to what Yuya said, somewhat surprised to hear someone besides the Professor could use every summoning type.

'I knew he was the Professor's son, but to think that Reiji guy could use all the summoning methods as well?' He thought, both impressed and afraid.

It made him glad he did what he did while he was absent.

Shuzo then walked into the hallway, rubbing the beck of his neck.

"Well, it was an odd way to do it, but this is You Show's victory!" He cheered, trying to lighten the mood.

None of the students appreciated that and just gave him fitting looks, ranging between annoyance and glares.

"Victory!? The only reason our school's safe is because they may have found the real culprit and called the whole thing off, and maybe just temporarily! We didn't win a thing... especially me." Yuzu screamed, nearly crying at the last part.

"Yeah, try to read the room, will ya? They nearly creamed us, enough that I probably _should_ have dueled." Sora agreed.

He looked at Gongenzaka.

"No offense." He added.

"None taken. Even though I didn't lose, the match was still a draw, which is still a loss due to the stakes we were fighting for." Gongenzaka replied, closing his eyes.

Yuya was still in the same position as before, only he was now holding his deck.

"Just what could be beyond Pendulum Summoning that he can see, but I can't?" He quietly questioned.

He stared at Odd-Eyes' card, hoping for some kind of answer to appear by looking at his signature card.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Reiji and Himika returned to the control room of Leo Corp, getting the attention of the staff as they saw them.

"We're here, report the details of Marco's assault." Reiji requested.

"They're very unique, but to start things off? The incident took place in City District NLD-038." A staff member replied.

He brought a map of the area on screen.

"The attack itself took place at 17:54, and then... that's where things get complicated." He continued.

Those words made Reiji raise an eye.

"Complicated... how?" Reiji inquired.

"Well, at first? We detected an incredibly strong summoning reaction, and it was Xyz, which was followed by Marco contacting us... and then a second summoning reaction happened shortly after." The staff member revealed.

"Was it also Xyz?" Reiji asked.

"No, this one was Fusion." They revealed.

This got his attention.

"Yuya Sakaki was with us at 17:54, so it couldn't have been him for either instance." Himika realized.

"And what happened after you detected the summoning energy for Fusion?" Reiji inquired again.

"After that... we couldn't find Marco." The staff member revealed.

Reiji looked as a staff member showed him a bag containing some cards and a damaged Duel Disk, which he recognized as Marco's.

"I see. Is that all?" He asked.

"Well, it might not be important, but it seems like we detected this Fusion energy once before. It was at You Show, along with the Pendulum energy of Yuya Sakaki." One of the staff members mentioned.

Hearing that, Reiji's eyes slightly narrowed, recalling how he didn't see Sora with the You Show group when he left.

"That's not just important, it explains everything." He realized.

"How so, Sir?" Nakajima asked worriedly.

"The Xyz energy could have only been made by someone from the Xyz Dimension, and now I can be sure that Sora is a soldier from the Fusion Dimension, so if the former attacked Sawatari because he believes LDS to be allied to the latter..." Reiji explained.

He closed his eyes.

"It can only mean my Father has already attacked the Xyz Dimension... and it has fallen." He revealed.

This made most of the staff, currently among the few who were aware of the other Dimensions, to show various reactions of worry and horror. Leo Akaba's threat was even worse than most of them had believed.

"So, what should we do now?" Nakajima asked.

"We have no idea how much this Duelist, or possibly Duelists, may know about Duel Academy, but our primary focus is getting them to realize we're allies instead of enemies. Meanwhile, we'll keep an eye on Sora and avoid letting him know we've found him out. The fact he hasn't tried to go after me implies my father didn't tell him of my visit from 3 years ago." Reiji decided.

"And... as for what happened to Marco, do you believe he's been-" Himika inquired.

"Sora more than likely carded him to make sure that my duel with Yuya was cancelled. Since he chose not to enroll here, that may mean he realized the dangers behind being under my watch if I had won." He answered.

Himika sighed at that, but ultimately pushed aside the loss of acquiring You Show, as they had gained something more valuable than the means to develop their own course for Pendulum Summoning at an earlier date.

Duel Academy would be invading soon, and now it was more evident than ever that they needed to focus on preparing for their arrival.

* * *

Yuya was shown sitting in the Duel Field again, looking at his deck as he continued looking at Odd-Eyes, trying to consider what else about Pendulum Summoning he had yet to discover beyond what he had already learned.

From outside the glass, Yuzu and the main members of You Show were all watching him with worry and/or concern.

"He's been in there for a while now." Yuzu said, starting to get worried about him.

"I can't really blame him for obsessing over this. After what Reiji said about Pendulum Summoning, he's been given some real food for thought." Shuzo replied.

She looked at her father.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Before today, Yuya was certain that he had already figured out every detail about Pendulum Monsters, but then Reiji makes his own and they don't work as they should in a duel because they were incomplete. Many students at LDS should have had Pendulum Monsters he could study, so for them to fail because he's still missing info means that even Yuya has yet to learn everything about Pendulum Summoning, and realizing that must have really affected him." He explained.

Yuya kept looking at Odd-Eyes, but still found no answers.

"There has to be something... out of every Pendulum Monster, only you became an entirely different card, whereas other Monsters simply changed into Pendulum cards. Just what were Reiji's Monsters missing that made them incomplete?" He asked himself, and/or maybe Odd-Eyes.

He wished that his card had a way to answer him.

"Not only did his Monster's Pendulum Scales decrease, but his Pendulum Monsters went to the Graveyard and not the Extra Deck, almost as if they weren't connected to it in any form. If that's the problem, then... what was missing?" Yuya questioned, wishing he could find answers.

Sora sighed as he saw this.

"The more he thinks about this, the more I really wish there was a way for me to get Pendulum Monsters to use alongside my Fusion Monsters." He remarked, really wishing he could Pendulum Summon like Yuya could.

The moment he said that, Yuya looked at him.

"Pendulum and... Fusion..." He whispered.

He let out a gasp, as if finally realizing something important. Something from when he was dueling Reiji.

That one important detail being during that duel, Reiji was able to use all five forms of Summoning, and yet... it wasn't enough to successfully make his own Pendulum Monsters.

**[Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V: Glittering Tears]**

Almost like he failed to take a step further than that!

"Could it be possible?" He wondered, looking at Odd-Eyes.

In that one moment, while it was a mere flash? Yuya could swear he saw cards that shouldn't exist, or from a different perspective, had _yet_ to exist!

"Of course, that's it!" Yuya exclaimed, believing he finally found an answer.

That caught everyone's attention as he finally decided to leave the Duel Field.

"To think the answer was so close, yet even I didn't realize it!" Yuya continued, smiling at what he realized.

"Realize what?" Yuzu asked.

He looked at her, making her see how bright his smile currently was.

"When they were destroyed, Reiji's Pendulum cards went to the Graveyard, and not the Extra Deck like they normally would have. It was like they were missing a connection to the Extra Deck that didn't make any sense. However, it just hit me... that we might be viewing Pendulum Monsters like they can _only_ be Standard Monsters!" He answered.

That surprised everyone.

"Are you saying the other kinds of Monsters could be Pendulum Monsters as well?" Yuzu asked, almost not believing it.

"I can't say for sure, but... there hasn't been anything that says otherwise besides we haven't seen any, which could be only because they haven't been discovered. After all, no one knew Pendulum Summoning existed until I first used it." Yuya answered.

"And when you did... they started appearing in various decks!" Yuzu realized, starting to see what Yuya meant.

That caught Sora's interest.

"Then, that means... you might be able to also discover them if we can learn more about the other summoning methods, and we already have a way to do that with Fusion!" Shuzo realized.

Everyone looked at Sora, getting his attention.

"Wait, me? You want teach you how to Fusion Summon?" He asked.

"Think about it, Sora. If you do, and we discover a Pendulum Fusion monster, then it means you basically create them. You might even get your own Pendulum Monsters in the process." Yuya replied with confidence.

"So, I could get my own Pendulum Monsters and even a Pendulum Fusion of my own?" He thought aloud.

Once that thought sunk into his head? Sora couldn't think of any downsides, so eventually, he gave in.

"Alright, I'll teach Yuya and Yuzu how to Pendulum Summon." Sora agreed.

With that, the main members of You Show all gave their respective smiles, as did Gongenzaka, who realized something of his own from this.

You Show Duel School now had a new goal to achieve with Pendulum Summoning, and one that they would achieve together.

* * *

**This was an exciting chapter to write. Because of how Yuya isn't the only one have access to Pendulum Monsters in this trilogy, I really wanted to show how his reaction to Reiji doing a Pendulum Summon would change, since he wouldn't react in the same way if they weren't exclusive to him. As a result, this has changed to him realizing they may not be exclusive to one type of Monster.**

**Another thing this chapter is meant to show is that I'm trying to give more love to Ritual Monsters, which ARC-V honestly could have done better, since both of the prominent users didn't get much time or limelight. The fact I transformed Caesar into a Ritual Monster (as its effect made it the best of his elemental D/D/D Monsters to change) is part of this, as is that fourth Hell Armageddon, since I'm pretty sure why I gave it to him is fairly obvious.**

**Yuzu's equivalents to Astromancy and Chronomancy Magician have also made their official debut as of this Chapter, who are Melodious Monsters known as the Melodious Flowers to fit En Flowers, as the normal Melodious Monsters have a less obvious theme to flowers compared to the other bracelet girls' decks. However, as Yuzu's Fusion Monsters have some flower themes, yet only slightly? I made her Pendulum Monsters the bridge between them.**

**Sora also had some focus in this chapter. To help show his eventual defection from Duel Academy in a better light, I had him allow Gongenzaka to duel in his place from the start, even if his reasons weren't too noble, and have _him_ be the one that carded Marco to try and help You Show instead. Shun was still the original attacker like in canon, but he only damaged Marco's Duel Disk.**

**Likewise, a few of Sora's reactions have a deeper meaning you'll learn about as time goes on, which are meant to show he's coming to see the members of You Show as his friends, and eventually that feeling is enough for him to choose them over Duel Academy. That being said, a certain catalyst will still need to happen before he finally decides to switch sides, along with something during the Battle Royale that will really seal his change of heart.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Time for the next chapter, and as you saw from the last one? This is where Sora is going to help You Show's two aces learn how to create Pendulum Fusions by helping them learn to Fusion Summon, which in turn is going to link Gongenzaka and Reiji to their own decks' respective evolutions. These are two of the many reasons they're the main characters in this part of the trilogy.**

**Like the previous chapter showed, they will also learn how to use Synchro, Xyz, and Ritual Summons as well, but how they learn them is the one secret I'll be hiding from now... well, for Xyz and Synchro at least. Mieru's crush on Yuya after their duel makes it pretty obvious how they'll get Ritual Summon skills. Albeit, Yuya will have to teach what he learns to Yuzu, since she _really_ doesn't like how crazy Mieru is for him.**

**At the same time, the last leg for qualifying into the Maiami Champion is about to begin, which leaves our Pendulum counterparts with the perfect chance to improve their skills in summoning and dueling in general. Speaking of which, I've added a little twist that should be as interesting as it is surprising, so keep an eye out for this said twist while you're reading.**

**One last thing I'll say before we get to the chapter is, despite how Sora's helping Yuya and Yuzu learn to Fusion Summon, he's only going to be a secondary character for this part of the trilogy due to the episodes its covering. I'll still be expanding more on some of his reactions in the previous chapter, but that's ultimately to set him up for when he finally leaves Duel Academy and joins up with the Lancers.**

**Now, let the chapter begin!**

* * *

**[Chapter 2 - Taking a New Stage]**

The scene opens to a bench outside of Yuya and Yuzu's school, where the two were about to eat for their Lunch break. Yuya opened his deck-themed bento box, revealing it had a picture of his father's Sky Magician underneath the lid.

"Dad, I hope you're watching me from wherever you are right now, because I'm about to start sharpening my dueling skills to become a pro Entertainment Duelist like you!" Yuya promised.

Yuzu gave him an odd stare as he began saying he'd do it... while eating his food, and therefore sending some of it flying at her.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" She shouted, moving her food away from him.

Someone held out their arm towards her, holding a handkerchief in their hands, which Yuzu soon saw was the familiar face of Shingo Sawatari.

"Agreed, it's so uncouth to eat that way in front of a lady." He replied.

"I'd rather be covered in crumbs that clean myself with something you've touched." Yuzu said, being as blunt with him as ever.

Sawatari briefly gave her a deadpan look before pulling his arm back.

"With how dirty his eating habits are, I now understand why you're not afraid to talk trash." Sawatari remarked, glancing at her.

"Hey! I don't care what you say about how I eat, but don't you dare talk to Yuzu that way! It's bad enough that you had your flunkies lie to nearly get our Duel School shut down!" Yuya warned.

"That wasn't my doing. If anything, blame my father for wanting to get revenge and LDS for paying them to lie." He replied.

This caught the You Show duo's attention.

"What!?" Yuzu exclaimed angrily.

"And yet the irony in this whole thing? Because the Chairwoman set up that challenge, we finally discovered who the real culprit is." Sawatari added.

Both of them gasped in response.

"Then... there was another attack?" Yuya asked, understandably nervous that he had a lookalike causing trouble that some people might believe was his doing.

"There was. He attacked Professor Marco, who teaches Fusion Summoning at LDS." Sawatari confirmed.

"So, does that mean you've dealt with that Xyz Duelist?" Yuzu asked.

He sighed and shook his head, making Yuzu feel a bead of sweat go down her cheek.

"Not even close, and to just rub even more salt in our wounds? Unlike when he dueled me, Professor Marco wasn't just beaten, but disappeared without a trace." He revealed.

Yuya and Yuzu looked at each other in shock.

"It became fairly clear to me it couldn't have been you after I got word of this. The only detail about his duel with Marco was he used a large Xyz Monster much bigger than your Odd-Eyes and the Dragon he used against me." Sawatari continued.

That caught Yuzu's attention, knowing both Yuya's Odd-Eyes and Yuto's Dark Rebellion were big enough that Yuya's body was only as big as their heads. For something to be even bigger than either Dragon was a thought that terrified her, even without having actually seen the Monster in question.

"Also, if you're still worried about me trying anything with Yuya? Then you can forget about that. After all, I have an easier way to settle things with him, one that will be much cleaner and ultimately more rewarding. Especially since my newest deck will easily make his Pendulum Cards nothing special." He stated, pointing at her.

"And why's that?" Yuya asked, glaring at him.

Sawatari smirked, pulling out his newest deck.

"Quite simple, because I now have... these." He answered, showing the card on the bottom.

It was a Monster called Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian, and... it was a Pendulum Monster!

"That's a-" Yuya realized, feeling his eyes widen.

"A Pendulum Monster, yes. This deck was being sold through an auction by a retired Duelist, which I won, and I'll use them to take you down at the Maiami Championship!" Sawatari declared as he pointed at Yuya.

He turned around to walk away.

"That is, once you actually qualify for it, since I don't want to look stupid because you didn't." He added, briefly looking at them.

"Actually qualify for it?" Yuya repeated in confusion.

"Don't you remember? You need to have been in at least 50 duels, not counting Duelists from your own school unless it's two different branches for the LDS, someone you've already won or lost to, or from a league other than your own. Then you need to have a 60%... win record..." Yuzu answered.

Her words suddenly faltered as both of them let out a panicked scream, realizing they didn't fit either of those conditions. It was loud enough that Sawatari heard it from where he had already walked to.

"Wow, those two have a strong set of pipes..." He remarked.

* * *

The scene opened to the inside of Reiji's office, where he was currently speaking with Nakajima about what happened to his artificial Pendulum Monsters the other day.

"President, I'm afraid to say that, despite their best efforts... the R&D lab can't conclude why our Pendulum Monsters failed to function properly. Luckily, they were able to at least confirm that they definitely didn't make any errors when creating the card data." Nakajima apologized.

"Which means that we can't make any progress unless Yuya Sakaki and Yuzu Hiragi manage to reach beyond what they can currently achieve with Pendulum Summoning." Reiji realized.

It made him glad that said what he had before he left You Show, as Yuya had likely taken those words seriously.

"Sir? If I may ask, why exactly do those two seem to be so deeply connected to the power of Pendulum?" He inquired.

Reiji stood up and looked out the window.

"More than likely, it proves a theory that I've had since I accidentally went to the Fusion Dimension 3 years ago. A theory that came from a folder I found hidden among the files in Duel Academy's database." He answered.

"What kind of information did that folder have?" Nakajima inquired, realizing this information had to be groundbreaking for Reiji to consider it from a mere folder of files.

"Rather than telling you, I'll show you." Reiji replied.

He pulled up a screen on his desk computer, revealing a set of two images that looked to be around at least 3 years old at the earliest.

Once Nakajima saw these images, he let out a slight gasp.

"These are... how is this possible?" He asked, struggling to believe what he had just seen.

"The full details are beyond my notice, as my father was wise enough to avoid keeping everything in the public database, likely to make sure anyone who got this far would easily walk into a trap by trying to find the rest of this information. Luckily, I saw these two while I tried to find the answers, and it led me to this conclusion." Reiji answered.

He closed his eyes as he closed the screen.

"My father's apparent plan to unite the Dimensions into one Supreme World... comes from the fact at one point in time, the Four Dimensions were one, but somehow split by unknown means." Reiji continued.

"Meaning that his goal is to somehow recombine them and restore that world, but... how does this tie to those images?" Nakajima inquired.

"If you recall, Sawatari believed he had been attacked by Yuya, except his deck was clearly focused on Xyz Summons instead of Pendulum Summons, or originally, a lack of Extra Deck summons. That most likely means his attacker is someone who may be the Xyz dimension's version of Yuya Sakaki." He explained.

"Which could mean there could be different versions of everyone in each dimension. Since your father spent a lot of time with Yusho Sakaki while they were creating the first version of the Real Solid Vision system, he saw Yuya and Yuzu enough to notice their resemblance." Nakajima realized.

Reiji nodded his head.

"Yes, or at the very least, that's my current hypothesis. The one thing that makes things complicated is that we still lack information, which is why we must prove to the Duelist or Duelists hiding in our city that we are allies in the fight to stop my father's conquest." He explained.

"Do you believe it may be related to the creation of Pendulum Summoning? The fact our Dimension was completely renamed by the first use of it has to mean it didn't exist in this theoretical original world." Nakajima inquired.

"I do. Despite what he claimed, before he left... Yusho told me that he didn't actually create the necklaces his son and Yuzu wear, and that's not all I've noticed." Reiji verified.

He pulled out a picture of Yuya and Yuzu, alongside the image of a Pendulum Monster card. The images of the former were placed by each Pendulum Scale, with each being by the color their Pendulum necklaces were a lighter version of.

"Said necklaces even match with the colors of the Scales on a Pendulum Monster, which leads me to believe that Yuya didn't discover them by chance... or on his own." Reiji revealed.

"In other words, you believe Yuzu is equally as responsible for the discovery of Pendulum Monsters?" Nakajima inquired.

"Yes, in the sense that Yuya only managed to discover them because of the strong bond they shared. Had one of their necklaces been in someone else's position... he may not have been able to pull it off." Reiji confirmed.

Nakajima soon moved a hand to his chin, starting to notice the pieces of a puzzle coming together.

"Meaning that if they can further develop Pendulum Summoning, we might be able to learn more about Leo Akaba's intentions behind uniting each dimension." He realized.

"Correct, and I have an idea on how to help them achieve that." Reiji replied.

He soon stood up.

"Get me in contact with Nico Smiley, and tell him I have an idea that will benefit us both." He requested.

* * *

Back at You Show, many of the students noticed that Yuya's aura had gained a depressing tone to it.

"What's wrong with Yuya?" Futoshi asked.

"He and Yuzu both realized they still don't have enough duels to qualify for the Maiami Championship, and while Yuzu's not taking it as badly? When they tried getting the last few duels they needed... their requests were all declined." Shuzo explained.

That surprised the You Show trio.

"Why would people be turning them down?" Ayu asked, unable to comprehend why they couldn't get at least a duel or two.

Shuzo rubbed his head, letting out an awkward chuckle at the reasons he was about to share.

"Because of either: 1) Their skills with Pendulum Monsters, 2) Believing that Yuya claimed Strong Ishijima's title after her lost, or 3) Are wrongly under the impression that they can just immediately qualify due to being a Pro or discovering Pendulum Monsters in the first place." He revealed.

"Eh!?" They exclaimed.

"And while Yuzu doesn't fit the last two options? Since she and Yuya are the top students here at You Show, they believe she'd be just as tough to defeat as Yuya, therefore making them share the same reasons by a flexible technicality." Shuzo continued.

He then let out a slightly depressed sigh.

"We don't have any Senior League students in our school, so if they can't make it? You three will be the only representatives of our school, and as a result, we'll end up as a laughingstock!" He loudly cried.

Yuzu immediately smacked him with her paper fan in response, knocking him to the floor.

"Are you _trying_ to make Yuya feel worse than he already does!?" She angrily questioned.

"Sorry..." Shuzo apologized, still laying on the ground.

Tatsuya looked at Yuzu.

"Exactly how many duels do you and Yuya need?" He asked.

"Both of us need three, but out of our 47 duels, both of us have only won 27 of them, so we also have to win each of those duels if we want to qualify." She revealed.

Hearing that, Tatsuya thought to himself.

"27 divided by 47... that's about 57.4%, and most of those wins were without Pendulum Cards, so your chances of winning another three matches are pretty good." Tatsuya calculated.

"Wow, you're good at math." Futoshi praised, surprised by his speed.

Yuzu sighed in response, starting to feel depressed like Yuya was.

"Problem is, like my dad just said? It's because we have Pendulum Monsters that's part of our problem. Not only that, but because the Championship is soon? It's even harder to convince people to duel you because they want to stay qualified." She pointed out.

Around that moment, Sora had walked into view.

"Championship? What exactly are you guys talking about?" He asked.

Looking at Sora, everyone was surprised.

"Seriously? I know you're not from here, but you honestly don't know about the Maiami Championship?" Yuya asked, finally breaking out of his depressed stupor.

"Nope, never heard of it, though it does sound fun. Is there any way that I can join?" Sora admitted.

"That depends... have you dueled at least 50 times since you've been here and won at least 60% of the time?" Shuzo asked.

"Uh... no, I haven't dueled that many times. Why do you ask?" Sora answered, looking nervous.

"Because you need to have a 60% win to loss ration among 50 duels to actually qualify for the tournament." Yuzu revealed.

Sora's eyes widened at that.

"No way! Why does no one ever let me have any fun?" He complained.

"Actually, there is one other way to qualify." A familiar voice replied.

The sound of that voice caught the attention of Yuya, Yuzu, and Shuzo as they turned their heads to see a man wearing a familiar yellow and black stripped suit.

"Wait, you're-" Yuya realized.

"Nico Smiley!" The You Show trio exclaimed in unison.

Before anyone could say anything else, Nico grabbed Yuya's hands and gave him a one-sided handshake.

"It's been so long since I've seen you! I've come bearing some good news for you and Yuzu!" He greeted.

"For us?" Yuzu said in surprise.

"That's right! After defeating Strong Ishijima in your exhibition match, the Duel Association talked over a few things, and decided that while you couldn't immediately be qualified due to your victory being decided through the newly discovered Pendulum Monsters... they've offered yours truly here to help set up the required duels to get you in!" He revealed.

Both of them gasped at that, while the You Show trio smiled.

"Really!? You can find them their last three duels, with no strings attached! I knew my hot-blooded teaching would pay off-" Shuzo cheered.

Yuzu hit him with her paper fan again, this time out of mere embarrassment. Yuya was shown to be lost in thought during this brief moment.

"Is something wrong my boy?" Nico asked.

"Not at all, I was just wondering how the Champion's been since our match." He replied.

Nico went silent at that.

"I am afraid... he is no longer the Champion." He stated.

"Huh?" Yuya blinked.

"After the match, he just left me a sad note, which said... that he'd be relinquishing his title and deciding to train himself from scratch!" Nico revealed, crying as he did.

Everyone let out a scream of surprise.

"Just like that?" Sora questioned, finding the so-called Champion's choice stupid.

"Just like that! Worse, it leaves me as a manager with no Duelist to manage..." Nico answered.

He was soon bawling on the floor.

"Was this just because he lost due to Pendulum Monsters?" Tatsuya questioned.

"Either that, or because he lost to Yuya, the son of his intended opponent." Futoshi guessed.

"That's lame." Ayu remarked.

Nico soon got on his feet, grabbing Yuya and Yuzu's hands.

"But! I can see the talent within both of you, so perhaps this is a chance for all three of us to rise to the top together! I've already found six Duelists I believe will be just what you need to take your skills to the next level!" He smiled.

Yuya and Yuzu looked at each other, then back at Nico, before they smiled.

"I guess we haven't had much luck with finding Duelists ourselves, so we don't really have any reason to refuse." Yuya agreed.

"Marvelous!" Nico smiled, clapping his hands as he stood back up.

"Also, didn't you say there was another way for Sora to qualify?" Yuzu recalled.

"Oh, right!" Nico remembered.

He looked at Sora.

"Since there are occasions the normal 50 duels and 60% win ratio don't work because of factors like a Duelist relocating, an injury, or illness limiting one's ability to duel? It's also possible for a Duelist to qualify by winning 6 duels in a row." He revealed.

"So, I just have to have six matches before then? Then I'll start looking right-!" Sora cheered, preparing to run off.

"Wait!" Yuzu shouted.

He stopped, looking at her in confusion.

"Didn't you plan on teaching us about Fusion Summoning today?" Yuya reminded him.

"Oh, guess I should take care of that first." Sora remembered, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

* * *

Inside the Practice Field of You Show Duel School, Sora was seen pulling out one of his Fusion cards, using it to start Yuya and Yuzu's lessons on Fusion Summoning.

"This is Fusion, the Spell that's the main source behind most Fusion Summons, barring some exceptions. It's basically the bread and butter of all Fusions." Sora began.

"I'm guessing the exceptions are specific to certain decks, like Masumi's Gem-Knights?" Yuzu asked.

"Yep, because an archetype based on Fusions tends to recycle the use of their main Fusion counterpart in some manner, and if not? They have alternate means to fuse under certain conditions." Sora confirmed.

He put his card away, taking out a lollipop before he continued.

"Before we do anything else, why don't I take a look through your decks and see if any of your Pendulum Monsters might be capable of Fusion Summons? If you do, then it's better to have your deck use them in place of the Fusion Spell." He suggested.

"Alright, here." Yuya replied.

He and Yuzu handed Sora his deck, and he began looking at all their Pendulum Monsters for any signs of those with Fusion capabilities.

After a few minutes, he succeeded in finding two Fusion-Support monsters, one for each deck.

"Huh, look at that. Both of you have one." Sora smiled, drawing them from each deck to show them.

Yuya and Yuzu look at the Pendulum Monsters in question, revealing they were Entermate Trump Witch and Soprano the Melodious Songstress, though once they saw them...

"I don't remember having this card in my deck." Yuya stated.

"I don't recall having a Monster named Soprano either." Yuzu added.

"Really?" Sora asked in surprise.

He fully put his lollipop in his mouth as he tried thinking for the reason both of them had cards they didn't recognize, and then recalled what Yuya once said about Odd-Eyes.

"Maybe some Pendulum Cards were created from scratch, like how your Odd-Eyes became a different Monster? That does seem to be how we'll make these new Monsters." He suggested.

"I... guess that could be possible?" Yuya replied, uncertain of how that might work.

"Synchro Monsters need Tuners, so maybe when we start learning about Synchro Summoning, we should see if Tuners appear in our deck or not?" Yuzu suggested.

"There definitely weren't any Tuner Monsters when I looked through your decks, so that could definitely happen." Sora mentioned.

"Alright, then we'll keep that in mind." Yuya decided.

They put their cards back in their decks, and then Sora continued.

"Now, like with the Fusion Spell, the usual rule for Fusion Summoning is the Monsters have to be on your field or in your hand. However, there are a few exceptions, and occasionally a few rules related to the Monster that's summoned. It's also possible to use a Fusion Monster in another Fusion Summon, which can sometimes be a Fusion Material for an even stronger Fusion Monster." Sora explained.

"Though all Fusion Materials share the role of going to the Graveyard after you use them for a Fusion Summon, right?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah, though I have no idea how that works with Pendulum Monsters, so I'd try practicing from both your hand and on the field to see if that has an influence on where your Pendulum Monsters go." He answered.

Sora then looked at Yuzu, pulling his lollipop out of his mouth.

"Since your Monster's effect to fuse is more flexible, how about you try to Fusion Summon first? That, and you did have the more recent duel against a Fusion Duelist." He suggested.

"Alright, here I go!" Yuzu agreed, readying her Duel Disk.

Yuya and Sora watched as she set up practice mode, and placed Soprano on the field with Prodigy Mozart.

"Here goes... I fuse my Soprano and Prodigy Mozart!" She shouted.

**"FUSION SUMMON!"**

The swirl appeared, causing Yuya and Sora to gasp as it looked like her Fusion Summon would succeed.

*"BUZZ! BUZZ!"*

She shouted in surprise, looking at her Duel Disk to see the ERROR message.

"Oh no! Did I mess up, or was that a failure because I couldn't summon a Monster?" She panicked, unsure what happened.

"You definitely did the summoning steps correctly, which means you weren't able to make a Fusion Monster." Sora answered.

Yuzu sighed and lowered her head in shame.

"Hey, don't feel too bad! The only problem was you didn't have a Fusion Monster." Sora reassured her.

"Maybe, but..." She replied.

Sora didn't say anymore, realizing she must still feel some lingering guilt over her duel with Masumi, due to how her lack of focus was ultimately what caused her loss.

"Wait, I wonder..." Yuya said to himself.

Yuzu and Sora looked at him in response.

"When I first Pendulum Summoned, it was because I remembered what my dad told me, and found the courage to keep dueling until the last card. Maybe there needs to be some kind of catalyst in a real duel for us to create new Pendulum Monsters." He recalled.

"So, what you're saying is... if I try to Fusion Summon during a real duel, then it might actually work?" Yuzu asked.

"I can't say for sure, but... it's at least something to go off of, and something's better than nothing." Yuya admitted.

Yuzu looked at her Soprano card, then gave a smile as she nodded.

"Alright, then when I finally have my first qualifying duel? I'm going to pull off a Fusion Summon, no matter what it takes!" She promised, motivating herself.

Her goal might have been big one, but Yuzu was confident that she could pull it off.

* * *

The scene opened to the following day, showing a sleeping Yuzu in her room, with her hair clips on her desk alongside her Duel Disk and Deck.

"Yuzu, wake up! I've got a surprise for you!" Shuzo called.

"Ugh..." She grumbled, trying to avoid waking up for a while longer.

Yuzu had never been a heavy sleeper, but when her sleeping form was faced against her father's loud voice? It somehow transformed her into a light sleeper.

"No, 5 more minutes..."She grumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

She hoped that he would give in and let her get more sleep due to how today would be her first match against an LDS Duelist who had enough of a win record to afford a loss to her, but whatever power granted wishes chose not to answer her request.

"Yuzu, please, wake up! This is really important!" Shuzo shouted again, making it clear he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Dang it, you played the important card!" Yuzu groaned, finally getting up.

After taking a moment to wash up, brush her teeth, and get dressed? Yuzu finally left her room, seeing nothing that could make her father have played the important card beyond cooking their usual breakfast.

"Exactly what was so important you couldn't let me sleep just a little longer?" She questioned, giving him a deadpan stare.

"Really, dear? You didn't even give her a hint?" A female voice questioned.

Hearing that voice, Yuzu let out a silent gasp as Shuzo gave an embarrassed laugh, holding out his Duel Disk as it revealed a real time call to a woman with pink hair.

The woman in question was Rinko Hiragi, the wife of Shuzo and Yuzu's mother.

"Mom, is that really you!?" Yuzu shouted in excitement, completely forgetting her irritation from being woken up.

"Yep, it's me alright. Have you been keeping your father in line as he runs You Show?" Rinko asked.

Shuzo paled a bit as his wife held out a copy of the signature paper fan Yuzu always had, making it clear where she got that particular trait from.

"Constantly." Yuzu replied, and with a deadpan expression.

"Why, Yuzu? Why!?" Shuzo cried in betrayal.

"Because you get way too hot blooded for your own good, that's why." Rinko said, not even bothering with tact.

Shuzo lowered his head in response.

"Anyways, I heard that you're about to participate in a duel to help you qualify for the Maiami Championships today. Is that true?" She asked.

"It is. The Champion's former manager has set up three duels for me and Yuya, and if we can win all three? Both of us will have enough wins to qualify." Yuzu confirmed.

"That's my girl!" Rinko praised, giving her a thumb's up.

Yuzu smiled, though it soon faltered a little, which Rinko noticed in an instant.

"Something's troubling you, isn't it?" She asked.

"A little... did dad tell you about-" Yuzu replied, slightly looking away.

"He did, and I don't think you should be blaming yourself this much. Things happen, and we often wish we made a different choice, but we have to live with what we decided. Rather than dwell on what you could have done? Focus on what you'll do next time such an event happens, and learn from the experience." Rinko encouraged her.

"Mom, I know you're trying to help me, but... I still can't shake that weight off my chest." Yuzu replied.

"Ah, I get it. You feel like what happened means you weren't strong enough when it really mattered. Believe me, you don't know how many times I wish Yusho didn't suddenly vanish and leave me to take a job overseas to help pay You Show's bills." Rinko realized, finally understanding the real issue.

Rinko had been doing work as a freelance photographer over the last three years, using the money she earned to help keep You Show running for as long as it had. It was her way of repaying Yusho for helping Yoko, who had been her best friend since childhood, leave her old life as the leader of the Maiami Queens.

"I know... and I really wish you were here." Yuzu said, understanding why she was rarely home nowadays.

"Well, on the bright side? Now that You Show's out of the red, I won't have to travel anymore after I finish up this job." Rinko revealed, flashing a big smile.

"Really!?" Yuzu exclaimed, feeling her mood lighten just by hearing that.

"Yeah, although I probably won't be back until after the Maiami Championship has already gotten underway. So, while you were duel training, your father asked me to set aside some time to watch your duel through his Duel Disk." She confirmed.

Yuzu's eyes widened before looking at her father, who was scratching his cheek in a bashful manner.

"I wanted to try and cheer you up, especially before your first duel, and... I figured calling your mom might be a good way to help restore your spirits." He explained, unable to properly look at Yuzu's face.

Suddenly, he felt himself being hugged by his daughter.

"Thank you. With all this support, there's no way I'll lose this duel!" Yuzu smiled, feeling her worries being pushed to the side.

Rinko smiled at the sight.

Despite how kooky her husband could be at times? It was moments like this that reminded her that Yuzu, and You Show, were in good hands.

* * *

Yuzu stood inside an LDS arena, with a small crowd watching her as they waited for the match to begin. It made her somewhat envious of Yuya, as he was currently dueling at a different school that likely wouldn't cause the same pressure she was feeling.

It didn't help that Nico Smiley told her that _all_ of her duels were against people from Leo Duel School, meaning this was simply the first of three times she'd be dueling here.

"Seeing this makes me really glad that my dad called my mom." Yuzu remarked.

"Hey, Yuzu!"

Turning her head, she saw Ayu, Sora, and her father (with her mom watching via his Duel Disk) in part of the front row, having just arrived.

"There you are! I was worried you might not make it in time!" Yuzu smiled.

"As if we'd miss this! You told me and Yuya that you'd Fusion Summon in this duel, and I want to see it!" Sora smiled.

"Tatsuya and Futoshi went with Nico Smiley to watch Yuya's duel, so make sure you both win for You Show!" Ayu cheered.

Yuzu smiled before nodding her head.

It was around then that an announcer working for Leo Duel School appeared on the field.

"Everyone, welcome to today's duel! Today, we have Yuzu Hiragi from You Show Duel School, challenging one of the many LDS students who've qualified for the Maiami Championship!" He began.

He threw his hand to the side of the field opposite to Yuzu's.

"So, let's give a big round of applause to Halil, from LDS's Anatolia Branch!" The MC exclaimed.

A boy with tanned skin and long, puffy black hair walked into the arena, causing the LDS students to cheer. His attire consisted of a red and orange vest with a black T-shirt, a small yellow and orange hat on top of long and puffy black hair, a green scarf, and multiple gold earrings.

Halil walked up to Yuzu, offering a hand to her.

"Greetings to you, Yuzu Hiragi! I am Halil from LDS School's Anatolia Branch!" Halil greeted.

"It's nice to meet you." She replied, accepting the handshake.

"I have wanted to duel a You Show student since I first learned of Pendulum Monsters, so I am honored to be dueling you today! Just know that I shall not go easy on you." He smiled as he gave her a friendly warning.

Yuzu showed surprise at first, due to Halil being much nicer than the LDS students she had met prior to him, but soon smiled in response.

"Of course. As an Entertainment Duelist, I'd ask for nothing less than both of us to do our best." She replied.

Both Duelists soon took their positions on the field, with the MC raising his hand.

"Now, here comes today's Action Field, the Thermal Shock Wasteland!" He revealed.

The field became something that was half an arctic tundra, and half an active volcano zone. Yuzu was in the icy half of the field, causing her to shiver due to wearing her school uniform as usual, while Halil began to sweat in the volcanic half.

"Oh my, I'm perspiring more on this field than I do back home." Halil remarked, wiping himself with a cloth he had on hand.

"Hey, d-dad? After this d-duel, r-remind me to... g-get a new... outfit for dueling!" Yuzu requested, her teeth chattering.

"Will do!" Shuzo promised.

The MC coughed slightly and turned around, making a call to request each zone's temperature was dropped to more manageable levels. A minute after he did, while they still felt hot and cold on their respective sides of the field? The temperature was now at bearable levels for Halil and Yuzu.

"Alright Duelists, let's begin the Action Duel chant!" The MC stated.

Both of them nodded.

"Duelists locked in battle!" Halil smiled.

"Kicking against the Earth and dancing in the air alongside their Monsters as they storm through this field!" Yuzu continued.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling!" They shouted together.

Right on cue, the MC snapped his fingers.

**"LET'S DUEL!"**

With that, the Action Cards scattered across the field.

**Halil - 4000 LP**   
**Yuzu Hiragi - 4000 LP**

"The first move will be Halil's!" The MC announced, motioning towards him.

**Turn 1: Halil (5 Cards)**

"Then I shall start by summoning La Jinn, the Demonic Spirit of the Lamp!" He stated, playing his Monster.

A green genie appeared.

**(Level 4, ATK: 1800 | DEF: 1000)**

"Whoa! That's one of the oldest cards in the game, and one that Seto Kaiba used at one point!" Shuzo exclaimed.

"Who?" Sora asked.

Ayu, Rinko, and Shuzo all stared at Sora in shock, which made him blink.

"Sora, where did you live that you've never heard of Kaiba!?" Shuzo questioned.

"Eh... I guess my home is somewhere pretty remote. All I really know about it is that people say it's where Fusion Monsters originated from?" He replied, shrugging as he did.

"The place where Fusion Monsters originated from?" Shuzo said in confusion.

Halil grabbed two cards.

"I now place two cards face down, and end my turn." He finished.

Yuzu reached for her next card.

"My turn, draw!" She shouted.

**Turn 2: Yuzu (6 Cards)**

She drew Azalea, making her smile as she grabbed Chrysanthemum from her hand.

"I set the Pendulum Scale with my Chrysanthemum the Melodious Flower and my Azalea the Melodious Flower!" Yuzu declared.

**Pendulum Scale: 2-9**

Halil smiled at the sight.

"I'm actually seeing a Pendulum Scale being set before my very eyes!" He cheered.

"And now it's time for my-" Yuzu continued.

"Not so fast! I activate both of my Trap cards, which are both Magic-Absorbing Lamp!" Halil countered.

La Jinn vanished before grabbing Azalea and Chrysanthemum, surprising Yuzu.

"Your Pendulum Monsters are negated, then added to my hand." Halil continued, holding his hand out.

Yuzu sighed, throwing both of her Pendulum Monsters to Halil.

"Oh no, he's taken her Pendulum Monsters!" Ayu said with worry.

"Worst? That means he'll be able to use them to Pendulum Summon once it's his turn." Shuzo realized, sweating slightly.

"And he's also an LDS student, so he'll likely use them to summon his Ace Monster from his Extra Deck." Rinko added.

Yuzu grabbed a Monster from her hand.

"Then I guess I'll summon Opera the Melodious Diva." She decided.

A small girl with pink hair and a blue dress appeared.

**(Level 4, ATK: 2300 | DEF: 1000)**

"Oh no! That Monster has enough ATK points to defeat my La Jinn!" Halil panicked.

"Unfortunately, Opera isn't allowed to attack on the turn I Normal or Special Summon her, so your La Jinn is safe." Yuzu replied.

"Ah, that is a relief." Halil smiled.

"I'll place a card face down, then end my turn." Yuzu finished.

Halil reached for his next card, with Yuzu sweating as he did.

"My turn, draw!" He smiled.

**Turn 3: Halil (6 Cards)**

Halil soon felt his eyes sparkling, which immediately told Yuzu what he was about to do.

"Alright, here I go! I set the Pendulum Scale using Chrysanthemum the Melodious Flower and Azalea the Melodious Flower!" He declared.

He placed them on his Duel Disk, but...

*"BUZZ!"*

To the embarrassment of the LDS students, he put them in the wrong places, causing silence to follow as even Yuzu stared at his mistake.

"Hmm? An error? What did I do wrong?" He questioned.

He placed them back on multiple times, only repeating the error sound, eventually making Yuzu sigh.

"Halil?" She said.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Put them on the _ends_ of your Duel Disk, not in your Monster Zones." Yuzu explained.

"Oh! My bad." Halil apologized.

He moved both cards to the edges, causing a familiar set of rainbow letters to appear, confirming he set them successfully.

"Alright, here I go!" Halil exclaimed.

The same white crystal seen during Reiji's duel was seen, quickly sketching the Pendulum Gate.

_"Power of the Pendulum, blow through the dessert and call upon its ancient spirits!"_ He chanted.

**"PENDULUM SUMMON!"**

The Pendulum gate opened.

"Arise, my Monsters!" Halil shouted.

Two lights shot out of the red gate, with the first being a red lamp with a face.

**"Red Lamp!"** (Level 3, ATK: 900 | DEF: 200)

And then a purple lamp resembling a hand with a mouth on its palm, and orange glass markings that acted as eyes.

**"Purple Lamp!"** (Level 4, ATK: 1600 | Def: 600)

Halil cheered in response.

"I have successfully managed to do a Pendulum Summon! Now that I have, I can truly see the wonders it brings to Entertainment Dueling!" He smiled.

"Glad to hear you're a fan." Yuzu smiled.

"You're quite welcome. Now, I activate my Red Lamp's effect! When it's Special Summoned, you take 600 points of damage!" Halil continued.

Red Lamp lowered itself slightly before blasting a hot blaze at Yuzu, who felt a small push from it, yet enjoyed it due to how cold she had been.

**Yuzu Hiragi - 3400 LP**

"For once, I don't mind that I took damage." She admitted.

"Now, I'll activate Purple Lamp's effect, letting me add the Spell card, Fusion, to my hand!" Halil revealed.

Yuzu gasped.

"You're a Fusion Summoner!?" She realized.

He nodded as Purple Lamp opened its mouth, dropping the card into his hand.

"And now, I activate Fusion, and fuse my La Jinn with my Red Lamp!" Halil shouted.

The red and blue swirl swallowed both inside.

_"Genie called from the darkness, embrace your sweltering soul and be reborn in a surge of fire!"_ Halil chanted before swinging his hands down.

**"FUSION SUMMON!"**

La Jinn returned from the swirl, but he had changed from Red Lamp's magic. He now had burgundy skin, and there was fire burning on the tip of his hat, neckline, waistline, wrists, and the tip of his tail.

"Come out! Fire Jinn, the Blazing Genie of the Lamp!" Halil announced.

**(Level 7, ATK: 2400 | DEF: 1700)**

Yuzu looked at the new Monster with amazement, while LDS students began cheering, and Sora's eyes sparkled.

"That Fusion looks so cool!" He screamed in excitement.

"Now, I activate my Fire Jinn's effect! Like Red Lamp, when he is Special Summoned, you take 600 points of damage!" Halil revealed.

Fire Jinn breathed out a wave of fire, with Yuzu having to actually guard herself somewhat from his much stronger flames.

**Yuzu Hiragi - 2800 LP**

"And now, I use the Spell card, Dark Energy! This gives my Djinn another 300 ATK points!" Halil continued.

**(Fire Jinn | ATK: 2700)**

Yuzu quickly realized she needed to find an Action Card, and ran off.

"Battle! Fire Jinn, attack Opera!" Halil ordered.

Fire Jinn rushed at Opera, and as he got close to the little girl? She started crying. The action startled Fire Jinn, who stopped in place.

_"Please, be gentle with me?"_ She begged.

Yuzu briefly turned around, feeling like she heard her Monster speak.

'Did Opera just... talk!?" Yuzu thought, unable to completely believe it.

Hearing her request, Fire Jinn scratched his cheek, wondering how he could be gentle as she kept staring at him. Luckily, he found an answer by simply flicking her forehead. It managed to do just enough that Opera burst apart.

**Yuzu Hiragi - 2400 LP**

As she ran, an Action Card soon entered Yuzu's sights.

'I can make it!' She thought.

"Purple Lamp, direct attack!" Halil continued.

Purple Lamp's mouth opened to release a wave of darkness, which hit Yuzu before she could reach the card, and causing her to slide across the ice.

**Yuzu Hiragi - 800 LP**

She reached out for the Action Card, and managed to grab it... only to see it was the Action Trap - Small Debt!

**_Action Trap - Small Debt_ **

**_Effect:_ **   
**_Take 600 points of damage._ **

"Oh no!" She shouted.

A dark aura dealt a small blow to her already low Life Points.

**Yuzu Hiragi - 200 LP**

"Incredible! Just by taking her Pendulum Cards and using them as his own, Halil's forced Yuzu and her Life Points to the edge!" The MC winced.

"And with that, I'll end my turn." Halil smiled.

Yuzu got back on her knees, but had her head lowered in a way not unlike Yuya's had when Strong had pushed him into a corner.

"No, don't give up Yuzu!" Ayu begged.

'This is bad. She's lost a lot of her confidence because of the events leading to her duel with Masumi, and now she's staring at a likely defeat that could cost her a spot in the Maiami Championship if she can't turn things around.' Rinko thought, gripping her hands in worry.

While this was happening, Masumi was seen watching the match from part of the stands, having wanted to see how Yuzu really dueled when she wasn't distracted. So far, she wasn't impressed in the slightest.

"She can't do anything at this point, all that's left is for her to lose." Masumi smirked.

As she sat there, Yuzu's eyes started to tear up.

'Ever since Yuya beat Strong Ishijima in a duel, it's almost as if... I can't catch up to him. I was just a damsel in distress when he fought Sawatari, put the school in danger, and lost a duel that only happened due to the decisions I made. Is this really how far we can go together? Is it possible that... I'm just holding him back?' Yuzu thought.

Seeing this made Sora tighten his hands around his lollipop, causing him to stand up.

"Are you really going to give up because things got hard for you!?" He screamed.

Yuzu's eyes widened as she turned to Sora, with everyone staring at him in surprise, even his fellow You Show group.

"Sora...?" She breathed.

"You and Yuya both represent a Pendulum, don't you? How do you think he'll feel if you lose? To make him think it was because of him, all because he couldn't be here to support you!?" He questioned.

Those words caused Yuzu to remember what she once told Yuya, causing her eyes to widen.

_"If there are times we need to push ourselves forward, then there's also times we need someone to pull us, and be our guide when we're not strong enough on our own." Her younger self's voice echoed._

'That's right...' She remembered.

She got back on her feet, reaching for her deck as she prepared to draw.

'When Yuya and I dueled the first time with our Pendulum cards, I remember how much fun all of our new You Show students had, and it was one of the best duels we've had in such a long time. It was like every move we made pushed the other to go further just to keep up. I've been so focused on how his Pendulum swings, that I forgot about my own! Now, it's time to change that!'

She pulled out her card, causing her Pendulum necklace to slightly sway as it let off a faint glow.

"My turn, draw!" Yuzu exclaimed.

**Turn 4: Yuzu (3 Cards)**

While it wasn't a game changing card, she did draw a Monster that might turn the tides.

"I set the Pendulum Scale with my Strelitzia the Melodious Flower!" Yuzu stated.

A cute girl with pale skin, blonde hair, and a white beautiful white dress that split into four streams at the bottom appeared before winking at the crowd. This made most of the guys blush in response.

**_Strelitzia the Melodious Flower  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 4 - Pendulum  
Fairy_ **   
**_ATK: 1700 | DEF: 1400 | Scale: 3_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:_ **   
**_You can send this card to the Extra Deck, then draw a card for every Melodious Monster on the field, including Strelitzia._ **

**_Monster Effect:_ **   
**_You can discard one card in your hand to bring back a Level 4 or lower Melodious Monster from your Graveyard._ **

"Now, I activate Strelitzia's Pendulum effect! By sending her to my Extra Deck, I'm allowed to draw a card for every Melodious on the field, including herself! Counting my Chrysanthemum and Azalea on your side, that's a total of three cards!" Yuzu revealed.

Strelitzia glowed before becoming a white bird, and flying into her Extra Deck, then causing three cards to float into her hand. She looked at the three cards she got, and then let out a gasp, seeing Soprano was one of them.

'Is my deck telling me that I should try to Fusion Summon?' She thought, wondering if she could pull off that risk right now.

While she pondered this, a translucent figure that no one could see placed her hand on Yuzu's Extra Deck, causing it to glow.

"Huh?" Yuzu blinked, looking at it.

"What magic is this!?" Halil asked excitedly, unable to take his eyes off it.

Tapping the Extra Deck zone on her Duel Disk's screen, Yuzu's eyes widened.

**_"You can do it, Yuzu..."_ **

She was surprised by that voice, but didn't pay it much mind as she finally felt her confidence return, seeing a chance to win this duel.

"Alright, I set the Pendulum Scale with my Violet the Melodious Flower!" Yuzu began.

A woman with purple hair and lavender skin appeared, wearing a dress that had some resemblance to a Kunoichi's outfit. Her right eye sparkled as her gaze focused on the Monsters in Halil's field.

**_Violet the Melodious Flower  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 6 - Pendulum  
Fairy_ **   
**_ATK: 2100 | DEF: 500 | Scale: 5_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:_ **   
**_Once per turn, you can destroy a Trap that targets a Melodious Monster._ **

**_Monster Effect:_ **   
**_On the turn this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can activate one Trap card from your hand._ **

"I activate her Pendulum Effect! One per turn, Violet can destroy a Trap that targets a Melodious Monster, so I'll destroy the Magic-Absorbing Lamp that captured Azalea!" Yuzu revealed.

"Oh no!" Halil exclaimed.

Violet took out a petal, lightly waving it until it became sharp like a blade, and then tossed it at the Trap. In seconds, it burst apart.

"Now that my Lamp's destroyed, its effect returns Azalea to your hand." Halil sighed.

He tossed the card back to Yuzu, who smiled as she caught it.

"Now that Azalea's back with me? I'll use her to complete my Pendulum Scale!" She continued, placing her in the right scale.

**Pendulum Scale: 5-9**

She closed her eyes as she put a hand over her heart, ready to make her move.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen!_ " She announced.

**[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Yuya's Theme]**

"Here it comes!" Shuzo smiled, getting excited.

Yuzu spread her hands out.

"Watch closely, because I'm taking control of this duel, starting now!" Yuzu announced.

Her Pendulum Gate appeared, causing the larger version of her Pendulum crystal to swing.

_"Swing far Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory!"_ Yuzu chanted.

**"PENDULUM SUMMON!"**

The red gate soon opened.

"My Monster is ready... to take the stage!" Yuzu shouted.

A single light shot out, revealing a silver skinned woman with butterfly wings.

**"Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestro!"** (Level 8. ATK: 2600 | DEF: 2000)

She took a card from her hand.

"Next up, I summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress!" She continued.

A young girl with green skin and red hair, wearing a white dress with orange and dark blue armor, made her debut with a twirl.

**_Soprano the Melodious Songstress *  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 4 - Pendulum  
_ ** **_Fairy_ **   
**_ATK: 1400 | DEF: 1400 | Scale: 4_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:_ **   
**_Once per turn, you can negate and destroy the activation of a card that targets one Fusion Monster on your side of the field._ **

**_Monster Effect:_ **   
**_You can Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using Monsters from your hand or your side of the field, including this card._ **

"Then, using my Prodigy Mozart's effect to summon a Level 4 or lower Melodious Monster from my hand? I'll summon Aria the Melodious Songstress!" Yuzu declared.

A pink skinned woman with a red dress and two lyres on her back appeared by her fellow ladies.

**_Aria the Melodious Songstress *  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 4 - Pendulum  
_ ** **_Fairy_ **   
**_ATK: 1600 | DEF: 1200 | Scale: 4_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:_ **   
**_If you have a Level 4 Melodious Monster in your hand, summon this card and that Monster to your field._ **

**_Monster Effect:_ **   
**_Once per turn, if this card doesn't deal any battle damage to your opponent, you can inflict 800 damage to your opponent._ **

"With this, the stage is set! First, I'll begin the opening my opening act by playing my Trap card, Melodious Song of Divine Punishment!" Yuzu shouted.

All three of Yuzu's Monsters began singing, which unleashed three green beams towards Halil.

"For every Melodious Monster I have on my field, this card deals you 800 points of damage, and since I have three? That's a total of 2400!" She revealed.

"2400!?" He said in surprise.

The green beam hit him, causing him to be flung into the air, making him back flip once before landing on his back.

**Halil - 1600 LP**

"Oh my! I believe now is the time for me to find assistance from an Action Card!" Halil realized, running off to find one.

As he did, Yuzu turned around.

"Alright everyone, _it's showtime!_ Using the effect of my Soprano, I can Fusion Summon without a Fusion Spell, so I'll merge her with Prodigy Mozart! However, the Fusion Monster that I'm planning to summon... is also a Pendulum Monster!" She announced.

Everyone suddenly went silent, with even the MC being left speechless, while Masumi and Halil both froze as they stared at Yuzu.

"Pendulum..." Halil began.

"Fusion!?" Masumi finished.

The familiar blue and red swirl appeared as Soprano and Prodigy Mozart flew into it, and then... a Pendulum gate formed inside of it!

'Is she about to do it?' Sora thought, staring at the altered gate.

_"Musical flower, take the guidance of the baton and gather your power to bloom into a new song! Sing the way to victory!"_ Yuzu chanted before swinging her hands down.

**"FUSION SUMMON!"**

A pink flower spun into view, slowly blooming into something big.

"The Flower of Fusion! Level 8, Bloom Diva the Floral Melodious Saint!" Yuzu announced, raising her hands up.

The flower fully bloomed to show the lavender-haired woman inside, who's legs seemed to be the flower itself.

**_Bloom Diva the Floral Melodious Saint *  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 8 - Fusion/Pendulum  
_ ** **_Fairy_ **   
**_ATK: 1000 | DEF: 2400 | Scale: 7_ **

**_(Two Melodious Monsters)_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:_ **   
**_Once per turn, an ATK position Melodious Monster you control isn't destroyed by battle, and you take no battle damage._ **

**_Monster Effect:_ **   
**_If this card battles an opponent's Monster, it is not destroyed by battle, and your opponent takes all of the battle damage you would have taken. Also, destroy that opponent's Monster after damage calculation._ **

Sora cheered as he saw the card, while the rest of the You Show group smiled at Yuzu's success.

"I... I don't believe what I'm seeing! Yuzu just Fusion Summoned, and her Fusion Monster is also a Pendulum Monster!" The MC shouted, finding his voice.

Masumi was left speechless at the sight, while Halil showed amazement at the sight.

"To think you could combine the power of a Pendulum Monster with Fusion, and debut it with your duel with me! I am honored." He praised.

"Don't praise me yet, since my Bloom Diva's about to win me this duel!" Yuzu reminded him.

She played her next card.

"I activate the Spell card, Pianissimo! This protects my Bloom Diva from being destroyed by battle, however, it also lowers her attack to 100." She revealed.

**(Bloom Diva | ATK: 100)**

Most of the crowd was surprised by such a move, unaware of why Yuzu played her Spell.

"Why did she do that?" Ayu asked.

"I have a good feeling that Bloom Diva's effect is why she played that card." Sora smiled, finishing a lollipop.

She held her hand out.

"Battle! Bloom Diva attack his Fire Jinn!" She ordered.

This shocked the crowd, especially Halil, as Bloom Diva flew towards Fire Jinn.

"But my Fire Jinn has more ATK points!" Halil shouted.

"Exactly!" Yuzu smiled.

"Wait, are you saying that's a good thing!?" He asked, starting to worry.

"For me it is, because when Bloom Diva attacks a Monster? Not only is she not destroyed, but you take the battle damage, and your Monster is destroyed!" She revealed.

The crowd gasped at that, while Halil gasped before running to find an Action Card.

"Go for it Bloom Diva, take out his Fire Jinn!" Yuzu continued.

**"Wrecking Refrain!"**

Fire Jinn unleashed a wave of fire at Bloom Diva, who immediately shouted as she blasted a green cyclone at the attack. Fire Jinn was overwhelmed by the winds, and then exploded like a massive firework.

"I activate Chrysanthemum's Pendulum effect! By using it, I can halve the battle damage!" Halil shouted.

Chrysanthemum unleashed her storm of red petals as a breeze of Bloom Diva's wind hit him.

**Halil - 300 LP**

"Aria! Direct attack!" Yuzu continued, making her final move.

Aria was about to attack, only for Halil to find an Action Card on the ground, which he immediately grabbed.

"I activate the Action Spell - Evasion!" He shouted.

He leaped out of the way as Aria unleashed a sonic shot towards him.

"Sorry Yuzu, but I'm not finished yet." He smiled.

"Actually, I'm afraid you are." Yuzu replied.

"Huh?" Halil blinked.

"I end my Battle Phase to activate Aria's effect! If she fails to deal you battle damage, then once per turn... she can deal you 800 points of damage!" She revealed.

Halil panicked as Aria prepared another shout, then fired it at him.

**[Insert Song End]**

"You were truly a worthy opponent, Yuzu!" He exclaimed, before being knocked over by Aria's effect.

**Halil - 0 LP**

**WINNER: Yuzu Hiragi**

The Action Field disappeared as everyone began to applaud Yuzu's victory, surprising her.

"It's all over! In a surprising turnaround, Yuzu Hiragi won the duel with a Monster that was both Fusion and Pendulum! It seems like Yuya Sakaki isn't the only pioneer of Pendulum Summoning anymore!" The MC announced.

As it finally sank in that she won, and the crowd was cheering for her, Yuzu waved back at everyone.

"I'll admit it, you definitely weren't fighting me at your best during our first duel, but... you're still nowhere on my level." Masumi stated, still refusing to give her real praise.

She walked out of the stands, without Yuzu ever knowing she was there.

Yuzu soon ran up to Halil, who was rubbing the back of his head after the tumble caused by Aria's finishing blow, then offered him a hand.

"You alright?" She asked.

"I am, but thank you for your concern." Halil answered.

She soon pulled him up.

"That was a great duel Yuzu. I truly believe that this duel has taught us both something, so I have a favor to ask of you." Halil requested, smiling brightly as he did.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Win your next two duels and make it to the Maiami Championship, so we may duel again, and I can once see more of your Entertainment Dueling with all the additions you discover along your journey!" He answered.

Hearing that, Yuzu smiled before holding out her hand, which he took.

"That's promise, from one Fusion Duelist to another!" She accepted.

At that moment, a smile appeared on Yuzu's face, one that showed the determination that would make their promise a reality.

* * *

Watching from his office, Reiji and Nakajima both witnessed the creation of Bloom Diva, which momentarily left the latter speechless.

"I can't believe it... she merged the powers of Pendulum and Fusion." He stated.

"Just as I expected, my words to Yuya have led not just him, but Yuzu to push the limits of Pendulum even further. I believe this is the first of four steps we need to make a genuine Pendulum Monster." Reiji smiled, adjusting his glasses.

Nakajima was confused at first, but quickly realized what those four steps were when he recalled the other Monster types.

"As in hybrids between Pendulum Monsters and a combination of Synchro, Xyz, and Ritual Monsters are the keys?" He asked.

Reiji nodded.

"The fact my Pendulum Scales changed so suddenly, and how my Pendulum Monsters went to the Graveyard instead of the Extra Deck, leads me to believe they lack a proper connection to both the main and extra deck. I'm positive this is the same realization that led them to the creation of Pendulum Fusions." He confirmed.

"Which means the rest of Yuya and Yuzu's opponents have a good chance of helping them create the remaining three kinds of Pendulum hybrids." Nakajima realized.

"Correct, and we may need them to be created, because there's something I noticed during the match." Reiji answered.

He rewound the footage of the match to the moment she summoned Bloom Diva, and in that moment? The Pendulum Monsters on the field besides her had a brief change to their cards.

A change that made their halves colored as Standard Monsters briefly turn red, just like Odd-Eyes' aura.

"What's going on?" Nakajima asked, genuinely confused.

"Perhaps, even now... the power of Pendulum is still evolving." Reiji theorized.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the school where Yuya was dueling? Yoko, Tatsuya, and Futoshi were all watching as a chandelier was about to fall on Yuya, leaving everyone in the audience terrified at what seemed inevitable.

"Yuya, watch out!" Tatsuya and Futoshi shouted, especially for the shocked silent Yoko.

"Hurry, someone do something!" Nico panicked.

As Yuya rushed for the Action Card that put him at risk of being crushed? Yuzu's group, who had immediately began rushing over when they realized Yuya's duel was still going, entered right as they saw the sight.

"Yuya!" Yuzu shouted, her eyes filled with fear and horror.

Just as the chandelier was about to crash, an unseen translucent figure appeared besides Yuya, and then...

*"CRASH!"*

*"SMASH!"*

*"SHATTER!"*

A wave of smoke covered the field, with his opponent, a girl with long, curly red hair named Mieru, looking at the scene with horror. She had seen this coming, and the guilt of her inability to stop Yuya from doing what he did struck her hard.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized, looking away.

"Don't panic everyone, because the show's not ever yet!" Yuya announced.

Everyone's eyes widened as they heard his voice.

**Yuya Sakaki - 300 LP**   
**Mieru Hochun - 4000 LP**

Everyone began looking at the rubble, causing them to see Yuya rise out of it, completely unharmed beyond his now dirtied clothes. Once he was fully free, he held up the Action Card that he successfully grabbed in time.

"No way, did he... actually manage to change his fate!?" Mieru asked herself, unable to believe it.

While this was happening, the headmaster of Unno Divination School looked into what happened.

"His fate should have been set, so why-" She questioned.

As her Crystal Ball looked at Yuya's current fate, it gave her one result... then another, and continuously did so as if it had no true answer, until finally? She got the image of darkness that was cut, briefly making her believe her Crystal Ball shattered.

That is, until she saw it was intact, and what had actually been cut had been the very fate she was trying to see!

'This boy... can defy fate!?' She thought in surprise.

Looking at the smile on his face, she felt as if she saw something beyond what the average eyes could see.

"You are no normal Duelist, aren't you?" She realized.

"I send the Action Spell - Miracle to the Graveyard, and dispel the effect of Draw Lock!" Yuya stated.

**Turn 10: Yuya (0 Cards)**

He took a deep breath, knowing the difference between winning or losing depended on his next card, with Mieru staring at him as she wondered if this draw would too defy the result she had foretold for this duel.

"Draw!" Yuya shouted, pulling out the card.

Flipping it over, he saw it was Entermate Trump Witch, making his body pulse as he saw a Monster he didn't recognize, like it was calling to him.

'I can hear it... my deck's calling to me!' Yuya realized while looking at Trump Witch.

He walked on part of the damaged chandelier, and made a familiar motion with his arms.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen!_ " He announced.

"No way, it can't be!" Mieru gasped, not needing her Crystal Apple to know what this meant.

"I currently have my Astromancy Magician and Chronomancy Magician in my Pendulum Scale, meaning I can Special Summon monsters between Level 2 through 7, so it's time for me to call on them!" Yuya continued.

His Pendulum Crystal began swaying, forming the Pendulum Gate.

_"Swing, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether!"_ Yuya chanted.

**"PENDULUM SUMMON!"**

The portal appeared.

"Come forth, my faithful Monsters!" He shouted.

The first was his favorite monster.

**"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"** (Level 7, ATK: 2500 | DEF: 2000)

Next was a circus-themed scorpion.

**"Entermate Kaleido Scorpion!"** (Level 6, ATK: 100 | DEF: 2300)

Finally, a circus-themed snake with a human glove on its tail, which acted like the rattle of a Rattlesnake.

**"Entermate Partnaga!"** (Level 5, ATK: 2500 | DEF: 2000)

Mieru soon held out her hand.

"I activate Tarotrei's effect, and flip both of my face down Monsters into face up position!" She shouted.

Petal Elf and Ouijamorrigan both reappeared in place of their set Monster avatars, then began to glow.

**Holy Prediction Princess Tarotrei**   
**(Level 9, ATK: 2700 | DEF: 1200)**

**Petal Elf**   
**(Level 2, ATK: 700 | DEF: 800)**

**Ouijamorrigan**   
**(Level 3, ATK: 1300 | DEF: 0)**

"Uh oh! Not this again!" Tatsuya panicked, realizing what would happen.

Petal Elf's effect immediately forced Yuya's Monsters into Defense mode.

"Now he can't attack!" Futoshi shouted.

"That's not even the worst of it. Oujiamorrigan's effect will deal him 200 points of damage for every Monster he has in Defense mode, and since he only has 300 life points..." Yoko added.

Ayu, Sora, and Shuzo all gasped at that, while Yuzu noticed Yuya didn't look worried.

'Yuya, what are you planning?' She thought.

"Since you've avoided your destruction, I can now win this duel with a clear conscious." Mieru stated, still certain his loss was set in stone.

Yuya shook his head.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuya inquired.

Mieru looked surprised, until she recalled Yuya was still holding the card he drew, making her eyes widen.

'What card does he have in his hand?' She thought, starting to worry.

"I activate the effect of Entermate Springoose! By Banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can send two cards on my field back to my hand, and I choose my Partnaga and my Astromancy Magician!" Yuya announced.

Both cards returned to his hand, and with a freed spot on his Pendulum Scale? He began his move.

"Now, it's time to introduce a new performer from my deck! I set the Pendulum Scale with Entermate Trump Witch!" Yuya continued.

A small witch with shadowed eyes appeared in Astromancy Magician's place.

**Pendulum Scale: 4-8**

"Next, I'll release Kaleido Scorpion to Advance Summon my Astromancy Magician!" He shouted.

Astromancy Magician appeared on the field, holding its signature weapon.

**(Level 5, ATK: 1200 | DEF: 2400)**

"This is it! I activate my Trump Witch's Pendulum effect, which allows me to use Monsters on my field to Fusion Summon!" Yuya revealed.

Everyone gasped at those words.

"Go for it Yuya! Make today a double Fusion Summon victory!" Sora cheered.

"Double?" Tatsuya said in surprise.

"Wait, does that mean-" Futoshi realized.

Trump Witch released a bunch of Poker symbols at Odd-Eyes and Astromancy Magician, causing a familiar swirl to appear, with a Pendulum Gate inside of it.

"Wait, but that's-" Mieru realized.

Yuya nodded in response.

"That's right, this Fusion Monster is also a Pendulum Monster!" He confirmed.

Nico Smiley's eyes widened upon hearing those words.

**[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Swing! Pendulum of Souls]**

Both Odd-Eyes and Astromancy Magician flew into the portal, where the silhouette of the coming Fusion Monster appeared before the crowd, leaving them speechless.

_"Mystic wizard, become one with this Dichromatic Dragon, then give it your wisdom and magic to create a new power!"_ Yuya chanted before swinging his hands down.

**"FUSION SUMMON!"**

The silhouette left the swirl, revealing an evolved Odd-Eyes with a talisman in place of its right eye, and a large golden ring attached to its back.

"Come, Dragon of the ancient magics! Level 8, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya announced.

**_Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon *  
(LIGHT)_ **

**_Level 8 - Fusion/Pendulum  
_ ** **_Dragon_ **   
**_ATK: 3000 | DEF: 2500 | Scale: 6_ **

**_(1 "Pendulum Dragon" monster + 1 "Spellcaster-type" Monster)_ **

**_Pendulum Effect:  
Once per turn, you can give a Spellcaster-type Pendulum Monster the power to attack twice during the Battle Phase._ **

**_Monster Effect:  
If this card was Fusion summoned using a Spellcaster-type Monster as Fusion material, it gains the appropriate effect depending on that Monster's Level:  
~ Level 4 or Lower: This card can make 2 attacks each turn.  
~ Level 5 or 6: This card can make 3 _ ** **_attacks each turn._ ** **_  
~ Level 7 or Higher: This card can make 5_ ** **_attacks each turn._ **

Everyone was rendered silent by the Monster that had just appeared, seeing it lower itself near Yuya while hovering in the air.

"He... he actually did it!" Nico screamed with joy.

"A Pendulum... Fusion Monster." Mieru breathed, amazed at what she saw.

She then shook her head.

"Even if it has 3000 ATK points, it won't be enough damage to defeat me! Your fate remains unchanged!" She exclaimed, pointing at him.

"Not once Rune-Eyes' effect activates." Yuya revealed.

"What did you say?" Mieru asked, wondering what kind of effect his new Monster had.

Orbs of light began spinning around Rune-Eyes.

"When this card is Fusion Summon using a Spellcaster, that Monster's Level decides how many attacks it can make during each Battle Phase!" Yuya revealed.

"No way..." Mieru gasped.

Astromancy Magician's form appeared as Rune-Eyes ring began to spin, glowing as a few triangular cuts formed and gathered the orbs.

"When that Spellcaster's Level is 5 or 6, the number of attacks Rune-Eyes came make is... 3!" He continued, holding out three fingers.

Mieru's eyes widened, seeing three large orbs form in a Delta pattern.

" _It's... showtime!_ " Yuya announced.

He jumped on Rune-Eyes' back as the Dragon teleported onto the wall, then ran across it! Everyone watched in awe, seeing Yuya being carried in the middle of the ring like he could defy gravity.

Mieru began blushing as seeing Yuya in this state made him look so dreamy, enough that she completely forgot about the duel.

"Battle!" Yuya shouted.

The lights briefly went off before a spotlight appeared over Mieru's Monsters.

"Attack Tarotrei, Petal Elf, and Ouijamorrigan!" He continued.

**"Unending Shining Burst!"**

Rune-Eyes jumped off the wall, causing the three orbs to spark and enlarge, before making the ring to spin like a wheel. Each orb blasted Mieru's Monsters one by one, until finally...

**[Insert Song End]**

"Beautiful!" Mieru shouted, being flung off her platform.

**Mieru Hochun - 0 LP**

**WINNER: Yuya Sakaki**

Landing on the ground, where he saw Mieru still in a starstruck state, the You Show group's students all ran up to him.

"You did it Yuya, you created a Pendulum Fusion!" Tatsuya praised.

"Yeah, I don't know how, but... I did it!" Yuya smiled, looking at his new Rune-Eyes card.

Sora let out a cheerful giggle.

"Well, this time Yuzu won the Pendulum race, because she created hers first." He revealed.

That made the other boys gasp, while Yuzu gave a bashful blush in response.

"You both created one? Wow, that really gives me the shivers!" Futoshi shouted, shake dancing in response.

"I guess that makes you today's MVP." Yuya smiled, looking at her.

She gave a look of surprise at that.

"R-Really?" She asked, almost unable to believe it.

"Of course. Out of both of us, you were the one who truly had a reason to surpass herself, to make up for your loss to Masumi. The fact you created your Monster first shows you had the bigger drive to make it happen." Yuya confirmed.

"Yuya..." Yuzu replied, a faint blush appearing as she smiled.

The two stared at each other like they were in a trance, surprising the You Show trio as Sora covered his mouth to hold back a snicker.

"My fated person!" Mieru exclaimed, lunging towards him.

Yuya screamed before he was knocked to the ground, while Yuzu suddenly stared at Mieru hugging him with a dark look.

"Uh oh..." Sora realized.

The You Show trio seemed to realize what he meant, and they all backed away from Yuzu.

"You made my heart go pitter-patter just now! My divination was right!" Mieru smiled, her eyes full of sparkles.

"What... the hell... are you doing?" Yuzu asked.

"Hugging my darling of course!" Mieru answered.

Yuya soon noticed the red aura of anger burning around Yuzu, who drew out her paper fan.

"W-Wait! Don't hit me! I'm not at fault for this!" He panicked.

"Oh, don't worry... I've never hit you before, and that's not going to change now." She quietly answered, looking at her real target.

The audience shivered as Yuzu readied her fan to hit Mieru with full force.

* * *

Outside the LDS building, Yaiba and Hokuto were together, trying to contact Masumi... with no success.

"Ugh! Man, that girl's been impossible to predict since Professor Marco disappeared!" Yaiba remarked.

"I wonder why? I mean, he's handsome, but..." Hokuto questioned.

Yaiba nodded, knowing that Masumi definitely wasn't crushing on her teacher, though she still had some kind of powerful drive behind why she wanted to save him.

"I do wonder what his attacker was after though? He just feels too... unspecific." Yaiba added.

Hokuto scratched his head over this, but before his train of thought could start moving? Heavy steps marked someone's approach.

They both froze as Gongenzaka stood over them, and then... bowed to the ground.

"Eh!?" They blinked.

"I, the man Gongenzaka, am here... to humbly ask you two for a favor!" He requested, holding his position.

Both of them were left speechless and confused by his words.

* * *

**Did Yuzu actually hit Mieru with her fan? I'll let you decide. *giggles* Anyways, Yuya and Yuzu have succeeded in creating their Fusion Pendulum Monsters, with Yuzu being first to do so because of how she asked Sora to teach her and had the cards for a Fusion Summon before Yuya created Rune-Eyes in canon. As such, I decided to have the chapter focus on her and her duel.**

**Now, if you made it this far and aren't sure what** **was** **the surprise? It was that Yuzu didn't have enough duels to qualify, and the in-story reason? Since this version of her and Yuya have a slightly closer bond than in canon, she missed some of her many off-screen duels from canon. I also did this to give some of the characters from the Maiami Championship more of a spotlight. Since Halil was her first opponent, you may be able to predict who the other two will be.**

**As for Yuya's remaining opponents? I can say that he will still be dueling Michio and Gongenzaka, and I mainly reduced his required wins to three because I saw little reason for him to duel Eita, since he doesn't qualify like the others do. I will say that since this chapter pretty much showed the pattern, that they will be creating and using Synchro and Xyz Monsters in their remaining duels, which is also where Yuya will create Beast-Eyes like he already does in canon.**

**Then we have me revealing Yuzu actually has a mother in this trilogy, which I partially did as part of giving more reason to the changes to the bond with her and Yuya, and mostly did because I felt there wasn't really a reason to not give her a mom. Yusho not recalling Yoko being pregnant seemed like it would have been enough by itself for him to notice the holes in his memories.**

**Last thing I'll cover before we end this chapter is that I hid a bit about Yuzu's Pendulum Monsters in the prior chapter. While most of them are based on the En Flowers card, some of them are Songstresses that act as that link to her Extra Deck summons, since Soprano is usually used to bring out Bloom Diva, and as such? There are four others, including Aria who's turned into one, that will be used to summon them, with one being an altered version of a real-life card.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the part of Ch 3 that I did write, and everything that would have happened if this story wasn't discontinued.**

* * *

**[Chapter 3 - A Frozen Feast]**

"I, the man Gongenzaka, am here... to humbly ask you two for a favor!" He requested, holding his position.

Both of them just stared at his bowing form, until finally...

"A favor? For what, and why should we?" Yaiba questioned.

"That you give me the knowledge of how to Synchro Summon and Xyz Summon!" Gongenzaka revealed, still bowing on the ground.

They looked at him in disbelief.

"Just why should we teach you how to use-" Hokuto questioned.

Before he could finish, Yaiba got a call from Reiji, making him panic.

"Hello?" He quickly answered.

He listened to what Reiji had to say, and felt his eyes widen.

"But-" Yaiba tried to say.

He was cut off and immediately forced to relent, letting out a sigh.

"Alright." Yaiba replied.

Yaiba hung up and looked at Gongenzaka.

"Fine... we'll teach you." He replied.

"Wait, say what!?" Hokuto exclaimed.

* * *

_As Yuya and Yuzu prepare for their next duels, Gongenzaka arrives and shares what he learned from Yaiba and Hokuto about Xyz and Synchro Summons, but doesn't say how he learned this. Not long after, they learn their next opponents are Olga for Yuzu, as her monsters shut down her Spells and Traps, and Mirio for Yuya, who makes it hard to keep a field advantage whenever he Pendulum Summons due to his monsters kamikaze tactics._

_Prior to their duels, Yuzu and Masumi have their encounter with Shun and Yuto, leading to Yuzu learning about Ruri's existence. Following that, both have their duels, and both achieve the summon of their Pendulum Synchro monsters, with Brave-Eyes being Yuya's Synchro monster. Following this duel, Shun duels against the LDS trio and beats them easily. However, they don't lost their memories as Reiji appears and helps piece some things together for everyone._

_Following that, Yuya begins his final duel against Gongenzaka, and Yuzu duels against Dennis, with each duel being made so they have to duel without their friends support, and can't go to support the other by the time one of them wins their duel. Gongenzaka reveals he can use all three Extra Deck summons and has been hiding Pendulum Monsters, but Yuya summons Blaze-Eyes (Raging Dragon under a new name and less destructive effect) to win, with Yuzu managing to beat Dennis' Xyz Monsters with her own._

_With their spots in the Maiami Championship achieved, everyone keeps dueling until the events of Yuto and Sora's duel. However, during that, Sawatari duels Yuya with his Abyss Actors and finds new respect for Yuya as he finds joy in his entertainment dueling through his new deck, which he makes his official deck. Yuzu also wins using all of her new monsters as well._

_From there, the story continues in "Battle of Four Worlds."_


End file.
